Attributed to Giovanni Antonio Canal, called Canaletto (Venice 1697 – 1768), A capriccio view of a town, a pyramid in the distance and figures on a path in the foreground. Photo Sotheby's

oil on canvas; 45 by 59 cm.; 17 3/4 by 23 1/4 in. Estimation 30,000-40,000 GBP. Lot vendu: 58,850 GBP

Notes: This unusual capriccio of the Venetian lagoon is datable to Canaletto's maturity, after he had returned to Venice from England. Though the painting has not, to our knowledge, been published by scholars, the design was already known through a drawing by Canaletto in the Victoria and Albert Museum, inv. no. C.A.I. 423. A print of the composition in reverse (see fig. 2) entitled Città superbe il vostro fasto abborro was made by Fabio Berardi (1728-1788). Constable was the first to mention that the composition of these works must have been based on a painted lost original since he notes that there are clear differences in design between the drawing and the print. 1. The differences suggest that the print is after the present painting, and not based on the drawing, as the inscription on the print suggests. 2. The drawing would thus have been executed as a preparatoy work for the painting. Compared to the drawing the perspective in the print is sharper and the chiaroscuro intensified; the shrine in the foreground is replacedby a bridge; the lantern on the church is omitted, as well as the lagoon; the church in the distance is different, while a tower and other buildings are introduced.

1. See W.G. Constable, Canaletto, Oxford 1976, vol. II, p. 602, cat. no. 805, the drawing is reproduced vol. I, plate 152. Another less finished drawing, probably preparatory for the London drawing is in the Schloßmuseum, Weimar; see J.G. Links, A Supplement to W.G. Constable's Canaletto, London 1997, p. 53, cat. no. 805*.
2. The print is inscribed: Anto. Canaletto Pinx. Berardi Scul. appo Wagner Ven CPES.

Sotheby's. Old Master & British Paintings Day Sale. Londres | 05 juil. 2012 www.sothebys.com