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LOT 29

Circle of Francesco Guardi (Italian, 1712-1793)

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A capriccio laguna view with a tower on the right

dated '1755' (lower right)
watermark of a crowned eagle
marked 'Soldi 5' (lower left)

pen and brown wash on white paper, unframed, 14,5x23,7 cm (full sheet: 18,7x29,5 cm)

Please note that the present lot will be accompanied by a letter from Prof. Dr. George Knox, confirming the authenticity of the drawing based on photographs (Vancouver, 12 January 2012).

Please compare to a drawing by the artist with a similar composition in the collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, inv. no. 37.165.75 (see: Jacob Bean and William Griswold, '18th Century Italian Drawings in The Metropolitan Museum of Art', New York 1990, p. 113).

Please compare to a drawing by the artist with a similar composition in: Antonio Morassi, 'Guardi: Antonio e Francesco Guardi', Venice 1973, pp. 752 and 754.

Francesco Guardi often depicted capricci of lagoons, mostly between 1760-1790. The present lot is dated 1755, making it a very early representation of a lagoon in the oeuvre of the artist. Often Guardi made several similar drawings, to perfect a particular composition. This work, in Guardi's swift calligraphic style and typical brown wash, is a preliminary drawing for the larger sheet in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York (inv. no. 37.165.75).

The mark 'Soldi 5' lower left indicates that the paper was ready to be used as a letter, the 'soldo' was the official currency of Venice in the eighteenth century. Yet Guardi used this paper as a drawing sheet to sketch a lagoon.

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Time, Location
18 May 2022
Netherlands, Hague
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[ translate ]

A capriccio laguna view with a tower on the right

dated '1755' (lower right)
watermark of a crowned eagle
marked 'Soldi 5' (lower left)

pen and brown wash on white paper, unframed, 14,5x23,7 cm (full sheet: 18,7x29,5 cm)

Please note that the present lot will be accompanied by a letter from Prof. Dr. George Knox, confirming the authenticity of the drawing based on photographs (Vancouver, 12 January 2012).

Please compare to a drawing by the artist with a similar composition in the collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, inv. no. 37.165.75 (see: Jacob Bean and William Griswold, '18th Century Italian Drawings in The Metropolitan Museum of Art', New York 1990, p. 113).

Please compare to a drawing by the artist with a similar composition in: Antonio Morassi, 'Guardi: Antonio e Francesco Guardi', Venice 1973, pp. 752 and 754.

Francesco Guardi often depicted capricci of lagoons, mostly between 1760-1790. The present lot is dated 1755, making it a very early representation of a lagoon in the oeuvre of the artist. Often Guardi made several similar drawings, to perfect a particular composition. This work, in Guardi's swift calligraphic style and typical brown wash, is a preliminary drawing for the larger sheet in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York (inv. no. 37.165.75).

The mark 'Soldi 5' lower left indicates that the paper was ready to be used as a letter, the 'soldo' was the official currency of Venice in the eighteenth century. Yet Guardi used this paper as a drawing sheet to sketch a lagoon.

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Time, Location
18 May 2022
Netherlands, Hague
Auction House
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