(Venice 1712–1793)
Capriccio with a ruined arch, sailing boats and figures,
oil on panel, 19.4 x 14.8 cm, framed

Provenance:
with David Koetser, Zurich;
German private collection;
Anonymous sale Koller, Zurich, 17–19 September 1997, lot 91;
Important Austrian private collection

The present capriccio of a triumphal arch and a waterside promenade is a significant example of Guardi’s freely invented landscape and architectural compositions, which are characterized by the vivid play of light and shade and a free and a seemingly impulsive manner of painting, partly applied with impasto. Guardi was highly successful with these mostly small-sized capriccios as they suited the taste of his fellow compatriots: his Venetian patrons obviously preferred them to the topographically accurate views of Venice painted for travellers from abroad. These capriccios were appreciated for their display of the artist’s inventiveness and their large motifs which were mostly classical arches and columns.

The present composition is dominated by a tall triumphal arch that clearly organizes the picture plane and creates an illusion of depth. Due to the wide view it offers of an animated row of houses, and because of its soaring height, the arch seems to be extremely light and floating. In the foreground a man in a red coat and three-cornered hat leads his son by the hand; to their left appear what seems to be a fisherman and his son, the latter carrying a basket. In spite of its small scale, the scene produces a powerful impression. Guardi treated the motif of a triumphal arch combined with the view of a coastal town several times (see A. Morassi, Guardi, 1973, vol. I, pp. 493/94, nos. 994-97). Dario Succi considers the present painting as one of the most accomplished versions of the subject and it is comparable in to the painting in the Accademia di Carrara in Bergamo (see A. Morassi, ibid., vol. II, fig. 879). The Hermitage in St. Petersburg holds a drawing that very probably served as a prototype for this subject and which can be dated to around 1780 (A. Morassi, Guardi, Tutti i disegni, 1975, no. 647, fig. 619). Due to the impulsive brushwork and the slightly melancholy and lyrical atmosphere, Succi dates the present painting to the artist’s maturity, between 1785 and 1790.

Together with Canaletto and Bellotto, Francesco Guardi was one of the most prominent exponents of the ‘grand siècle’ of 18th-century Venetian topographical painting. He was born in 1712, the son of the painter Domenico Guardi, who died prematurely. His elder brother Gianantonio was responsible for his education, and he was trained to become a painter in the family workshop. Through the marriage of his sister Maria Cecilia to Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, the Guardi family of painters had familial ties to one of the leading artists of Venice. In their production, the workshop primarily concentrated on the execution of altarpieces. After his brother Gianantonio died in 1760, Francesco Guardi concentrated more on topographical painting. He received commissions from private patrons and from the Republic of Venice, for which he painted, among other works, the cycle of the Twelve Feasts for Doge Alvise IV Mocenigo. In 1782 he was asked to document the visit of Pope Pius IV in four paintings. On the occasion of the visit of the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess of Russia in Venice, he depicted the celebrations held in their honour.

Apart from vedute and depictions of Venetian feastivals, Guardi’s oeuvre comprises a large number of genre scenes reflecting a lively and colourful image of the Venetian aristocracy’s customs and habits. While Gianantonio Guardi, a history painter, was among the founder members of the Venice Accademia, Francesco was not admitted before 1784, under the category of pittore prospettico. When he died in 1793, at the age of 81, his son Giacomo continued to run the workshop.

Dario Succi has confirmed the attribution (written communication).