Francesco Guardi
Venice, the Bacino di San Marco with the Piazzetta and the Doge’s Palace
Estimate: £8-10 million/ $13-16.5 million / €9.5-12 million
Christie’s, July 2014
Francesco Guardi
Venice, a view of the Rialto Bridge, Looking North, from the Fondamenta del Carbon
Sold for £26,7 million at Sotheby’s, July 2011
Masterpiece by Francesco Guardi at Christie’s On July 8, 2014, Christie’s will auction ‘Venice, the Bacino di San Marco with the Piazzetta and the Doge’s Palace’ by Francesco Guardi (1712-1793), coming from the Baron Henri de Rothschild Collection.]]>
June 3, 2014, source: Christie’s
Executed at the height of Guardi’s maturity and depicting one of the most celebrated prospects of Venice, centering on the Doge’s Palace, the caliber of this work is matched by its exceptional provenance. Originally in the collection of The Earls of Shaftesbury; it was acquired by Baron James-Edouard de Rothschild (1844-1881) and was in turn owned by his daughter Jeanne-Sophie-Henriette, Baronne Léonino (1875-1929) and then by her brother Baron Henri-James-Charles-Nathan de Rothschild (1872-1947), from whom it was inherited by the present owners.
The viewpoint in the painting is in the Bacino di San Marco, roughly midway to the Island of San Giorgio Maggiore. From the left, with the eastern bays of the Zecca, Guardi shows the Libreria, designed by Sansovino, with towering behind this the Campanile, the Piazzetta, with the columns of Saint Mark and Saint Theodore, and behind the Torre dell’Orologio and the Basilica of Saint Mark’s, the Doge’s Palace which in Guardi’s time remained the centre of the government of the Venetian Republic, the Ponte della Paglia, and the Carceri, with to the right of this smaller buildings and two palazzo fronting the Riva degli Schiavoni. As the shadows cast by the buildings indicate, the time is late morning.
Georgina Wilsenach, Head of Old Master & British Paintings at Christie’s London: “We are honoured to present this exquisite view by Francesco Guardi at a moment when appreciation of his art is at an all-time high. Landmark exhibitions of his work in 2012-2013 marked the third centenary of the artist‟s birth, including the highly acclaimed exhibitions at the Musée Jacquemart-André in Paris and the Museo Correr in Venice.”
Related content
Masterpiece by Francesco Guardi sells for $42,8 million (July 2011)
Follow us on:
