Francesco GUARDI (1712-1793) - Lot 26

Francesco GUARDI (1712-1793) Venice, view of San Giorgio Maggiore Canvas (Old label on reverse; scratches in sky, old restorations). Height 39.3 cm; Width 32 cm The painting, dated by Monsieur Succi to 1775, is mentioned as one of the artist's rare vertical formats. Guardi repeatedly painted the monastery on the island of San Giorgio Maggiore, designed by Andrea Palladio as early as 1665, each time varying the light source, the time of day or the angle of view from which the church was depicted. The dazzling white of the Istrian stone façade is reflected in the water of the "bacino di San Marco", occupying the middle ground, while the limpid light of the sky reveals, in the distance, the riva degli Schiavoni and Piazza San Marco in the distance. The gondolas in the foreground bring the scene to life. Our canvas can be compared to the framing of the versions held by the Fondation Custodia in Paris and the Fondation Bemberg in Toulouse. Fondation Bemberg in Toulouse, also taken from the Giudecca, but lacking the campanile that collapsed in 1774. (its reconstruction was completed in 1791). Provenance : - Parisian family collection since the 1950s. Bibliography: - Dario SUCCI, Guardi, catalogo Dei Dipinti E Designi Inediti, vol. II, 2021, no. 135, reproduced in black and white on page 101 (with a counterpart at the Punta della Dogana).