rare, newly-discovered drawing by canaletto to lead sotheby's sale of old master drawings

7/31/2019 Rare, newly-discovered drawing by Canaletto to lead Sotheby's sale of Old Master Drawings

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For Immediate ReleasePress Release London

London | +44 (0)20 7293 6000 | Matthew Weigman | [email protected]

Leyla Daybelge | [email protected]| Mitzi Mina | [email protected]

PREVIOUSLY UNRECORDED CANALETTO COMES TOPREVIOUSLY UNRECORDED CANALETTO COMES TOPREVIOUSLY UNRECORDED CANALETTO COMES TOPREVIOUSLY UNRECORDED CANALETTO COMES TO

LIGHT AFTER OVER A CENTURY LIGHT AFTER OVER A CENTURY LIGHT AFTER OVER A CENTURY LIGHT AFTER OVER A CENTURY

-------- Sotheby’sSotheby’sSotheby’sSotheby’s to offer to offer to offer to offer first major drawing of first major drawing of first major drawing of first major drawing of a real Venetian view a real Venetian view a real Venetian view a real Venetian view

by Canalettoby Canalettoby Canalettoby Canaletto in over thirty yearsin over thirty yearsin over thirty yearsin over thirty years --------

AN UNSOLICITED phone call to Sotheby’s Paris has revealed the remarkable existenceof a previously unrecorded Canaletto, Campo di San Giacomo di Rialto, to be offered inSotheby’s Old Master Drawings sale on the 4th July. Unsuspecting its true value, thecurrent owners have kept this rare drawing preserved – unknown to scholars - for over acentury in their private collection. It comes to the market as a historic event, the first majorCanaletto drawing of a real Venetian view to be offered in over 30 years. A masterfultechnical exposition, acutely and subtly sensitive to the fall of light, this is a drawingconceivably intended as a stand-alone work. The anecdotal detail of one day in the life of the market is offset against a backdrop of iconic Venetian architecture: the church of SanGiacomo with the Ruga degli Orefici leading up at right to the Rialto bridge. It is a sitewhich preoccupied the imagination of the artist, who is known to have produced twopaintings – in the Staatliche Gemaldegallerie, Dresden and the National Gallery of

Giovanni Antonio Canal, called Canaletto,Giovanni Antonio Canal, called Canaletto,Giovanni Antonio Canal, called Canaletto,Giovanni Antonio Canal, called Canaletto, Venice 1697Venice 1697Venice 1697Venice 1697----1768,1768,1768,1768, Campo San GiacomoCampo San GiacomoCampo San GiacomoCampo San Giacomodi Rialtodi Rialtodi Rialtodi Rialto, Venice, pen and brown ink and grey wash, 246 by 372mm est. £300, Venice, pen and brown ink and grey wash, 246 by 372mm est. £300, Venice, pen and brown ink and grey wash, 246 by 372mm est. £300, Venice, pen and brown ink and grey wash, 246 by 372mm est. £300,000,000,000,000----500,000500,000500,000500,000



Canada – and a further drawing – in the Courtauld Institute, London – of the Campo.Among this prestigious company, Sotheby’s drawing is the only composition nowremaining in a private collection.

Sotheby’s Greg Rubinstein, Worldwide Head of Old Master Drawings, commented: “This masterpiece holds its own alongside the very best of Canaletto’s drawings, and itsdiscovery is a major event. No monumental drawing by Canaletto of a real Venetian view hasbeen seen at auction over the past thirty years. Campo di San Giacomo di Rialto puts thisright in great style: a splendid view of some of Venice’s most famous buildings, in superbcondition, and previously totally unknown.”

The ultimate prospect in a headline series of drawings, billed here as a ‘grand tour’ for itssequence of remarkable topographical views, Campo di San Giacomo di Rialto is flankedby works by Turner and Lusieri, Guardi and Van de Velde.

From J.M.W.Turner’s lateperiod, Lausanne fromLausanne fromLausanne fromLausanne fromthe West the West the West the West (est. £(est. £(est. £(est. £600,000600,000600,000600,000----800,000)800,000)800,000)800,000) and TheTheTheTheDomleschg Valley,Domleschg Valley,Domleschg Valley,Domleschg Valley, (est.(est.(est.(est.££££300,000300,000300,000300,000 –––– 500,000)500,000)500,000)500,000)left, are virtuosic technicalmasterpieces whichquestion the boundaries of

the possible inwatercolour. Formerly inthe collection of BaronUllens, their universalsubject is the relationshipof mankind to elemental

nature. Lausanne from the West , showing the newly constructed bridge over the gorge of the River Flon, dramatizes mankind’s attempt to harness the sublime through newtechnology. In The Domleschg Valley – looking towards the gorge of Rothenbrunnen –,the artist, sketching on a bridge halfway along the valley, is pitted against the mountains(greatly exaggerated in scale) on his either side.

A prospect of quite another kind,Giovanni Battista Lusieri’s A View A View A View A View of Lake Avernoof Lake Avernoof Lake Avernoof Lake Averno, (e(e(e(estststst ££££140,000140,000140,000140,000----180,000180,000180,000180,000) )) ) – illustrated at left -conceptualises the aristocraticrelationship to landscape in itsvision of man and nature intimeless and peaceful accord. A

work of great rarity, this is thefinest watercolour by the artist to



come to the market since the seminal Lusieri sale of 1986, of works descended in the familyof the artist’s patron Lord Elgin. Lusieri would go on to be instrumental – as Lord Elgin’sartist and agent – in the acquisition and shipping of the Elgin Marbles. The time is nowauspicious for Lusieri, and for his astute collector; the artist’s legacy as master of Italianlight is acquiring a momentum of its own, with the first, major exhibition of works by the

artist currently at the National Gallery of Scotland.

Sotheby’s will also offer an expansive view of Freshwater Bay, Isle of Wight, by Willem vande Velde the Elder, with Charles II’s Royal Yacht cutting at an angle, in the wind. From thesame collection as the Canaletto come unrecorded drawings by Jacob van Ruisdael – themost important in over twenty years - and 17th century equestrian master, PhilipsWouwerman. Views by Guardi, van Ruisdael, a monumental modello by SebastianoConca , and a superbly neoclassical drawing by Fuseli add up to a sale justifiably billed as agrand tour for the senses.

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*Estimates do not include buyer’s premium

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rare, newly-discovered drawing by canaletto to lead sotheby's sale of old master drawings

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