Francesco Guardi (1712-1793) [Followers] - Capriccio con Arco in rovine e riva al mare

\Artist: Francesco Guardi (1712-1793) [Followers]
Technique: olio su tela ovale, cm. 53,8 x 41,8\Signature: Not signed\Dimensions: 71_12_60_cm
FRANCESCO GUARDI (Venice, 1712 – 1793) [Followers] Capriccio con Arco in rovine e riva al mare Oil on oval canvas, 53. 8 x 41. 8 cm - not signed. Frame size: approx. 61 x 50 x 5 cm. Notes: not signed. With certificate of warranty and lawful origin. With frame (with flaws) . " . . . The capriccio in question, with an arch by the sea, is one of the great examples of Guardi's landscapes and paintings of architecture, the result of whimsical invention, characterised by great artistic freedom in the form of lively chiaroscuro effects and apparently free and impulsive brushstrokes, with a sometimes pasty drafting of the colour. Guardi was very successful with these capricci of his, almost always of small format, which met the taste of his compatriots; the Venetian clients evidently preferred them to the Venetian views executed with topographical accuracy intended for foreign travellers. They charmed thanks to the great inventiveness of the painter and to the details taken up close, mostly ancient arches or columns. To ennoble the composition, giving it the character of capriccio without however taking anything away from the truth of the snapshot, there is the ruin of the classical arch that stands out to the left, transmitting a clear organization of the pictorial surface and creating the impression of depth. The gaze converges on the capriccio of the ruined arch, which opens the glimpse of a landscape with houses, which can be seen in the distance, with a pleasant and well-calibrated depth effect. Below is depicted the shore of the sea animated by figures, in a city view with an almost evanescent taste, illuminated by the light of a clear morning, small figures populate this delightful painting in an intimate but popular glimpse. Despite the small format, the scene is highly evocative. The motif of the triumphal arch with the view of a coastal city is recurrent in Guardi (see A. Morassi, Guardi, 1973, vol. I, pp. 493/94, n. 994–997) . It is a small painting but of great pleasantness, which fits fully into that pictorial trend developed in the Venetian area in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century. In particular – in our opinion – it would seem the work of an artist gravitating around the circle or a follower of Francesco Guardi (Venice 1712-1793) , the great Venetian Master, from whom he fully draws the compositional structure, pictorial technique, as well as the clear and bright palette. Francesco Guardi was, together with Canaletto and Bellotto, one of the most important exponents of the golden age of eighteenth-century Venetian vedutism. Born in 1712, he was the son of the painter Domenico Guardi, who died prematurely. Francesco's education was entrusted to his older brother, Gianantonio, and he learned the trade in the family workshop. When his sister Maria Cecilia married Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, the Guardi family of painters found themselves allied with one of the greatest artistic personalities of Venice. The production of the workshop focused mainly on the execution of altarpieces. At the death of his brother Gianantonio in 1760, Francesco Guardi followed his true vocation as a landscape painter. He received assignments from private patrons and from the Republic of Venice, for which he created the cycle of the Twelve Feasts for Doge Alvise IV Mocenigo, among other things. In 1782 he was commissioned four paintings that were to document the visit of Pope Pius VI. On the occasion of the visit of the Grand Prince of Russia and consort in the Serenissima, it was Guardi who painted the celebrations that had been organized in his honour. In addition to venetian views and festivals, Guardi made numerous genre scenes that give us a lively and colourful image of the fashions and customs of the Venetian aristocracy. While Gianantonio Guardi, as a painter of stories ,was one of the founding members of the Academy of Venice, Francesco joined it only in 1784 in the category of perspective painter. When he died in 1793 at the age of 81, the workshop was run by his son Giacomo. The work in question, with its soft warm and golden tones, is inspired by the happier versions of Guardi, very close to the original work of the Accademia di Carrara in Bergamo (Francesco Guardi, Capriccio with Gothic arch, 1782-1786, oil on canvas, 39x26 cm) , and can be placed in the most mature phase of the Venetian painter’s production, when the artist created – in the last period of his life – a fair number of very small capricci. It is clear – in the work in question – the influence of the stylistic and compositional examples of Francesco Guardi, beautifully executed and of good quality, without excluding a likely attribution in the context of his son Giacomo Guardi (Venice, 1764 – 1835) crated after the death of his father (Bbbl. . : Dario Succi, in Francesco Guardi, pp. 147-166, fig. 150) . The canvas is in rather good overall condition considering its age, the surface has a patina and the paint is dirty, oxidised and uneven. There are, especially in the sky, small anchored cracks and drops in colour. Some small, scattered restorations, peeling and oxidation of the surface emerged under Wood’s lamp. There are some conservation issues and it seems to require restoration. In natural light, there is a fine craquelure consistent with the painting’s age. Size of the oval canvas: 53. 8 x 41. 8 cm. This painting of good workmanship comes with am antique (?) gilded wooden frame (frame size: approx. 61 x 50 x 5 cm, with flaws) . Origin: private collection. Publication: \t. Unpublished; \t. MITI E IL TERRITORIO nella Sicilia dalle mille culture. Inedita quadreria, general catalogue of the paintings in the collection of the series I miti e il territorio, Lab_04 publishing, Marsala, (now printing, 2022) . The painting comes with a complimentary frame. The seller guarantees an accurate packaging inside a wooden crate, with protective materials (bubble wrap, cardboard, styrofoam) . Packaging cost: approximately €100. Tracked shipping (approx. €100 to Italy) . For export, the work is subject to a request for Certificate of Free Circulation (European Community) or Export Certificate (Extra-EU Transport) at the export office (Territorial Superintendency) with additional times and costs (€300/€500, all inclusive: shipping, packaging, and export documents) .