Guardi, Francesco
Guardi, Francesco
Italian, 18th century, male.
Born 1712, in Venice; died 1793, in Venice.
Painter (gouache), watercolourist, decorative designer, draughtsman. Religious subjects, genre scenes, landscapes, landscapes with figures, seascapes.
Francesco GUARDI: signature or monogram
In the 18th century the Republic of Venice was in decline. The Venetian painters, such as Domenico (the son of Tintoretto), Palma the Younger, Mattoni delle Vecchie and Giovanni Antonio Fumiani, were repeating the motifs of their predecessors. However, Giovanni Battista Tiepolo and Francesco Guardi were developing their own styles. Tiepolo was an ethereal Gothic decorator, the last of the great fresco artists. Guardi became the representative of a new sensitivity. His paintings bear witness to a new bourgeois spirit. Guardi was a contemporary of Goldoni, the theatre writer, whose aim was to adapt the Comedia dell'Arte to give a comic illustration of the morals of the new society.
Francesco Guardi belonged to a family of painters. His father Domenico, his brothers Giovanni Antonio (Gianantonio) and Niccolo, and his son Giacomo were all painters. His sister Cecilia was the wife of Giovanni Battista Tiepolo and the mother of Gian Domenico Tiepolo. He worked in the workshop with his father and elder brother Giovanni Antonio. His father had trained under Sebastiano Ricci, whose example was important in the development of Guardi's style. It was through him that Guardi adopted a sharp angular touch, a technique which probably derived from Magnasco the Genoese.
During the first half of his life, Guardi was a painter of decorations and church paintings. These were modest works and often inspired by models already in existence, and aimed at small oratories or provincial churches. These give an idea of his original technical skill. In his early works Guardi was simply an imitator. The Parlour of the Nuns and the Ridotto (games room) of the Museo Correr in Venice are directly inspired by Pietro Longhi. As a decorative artist Guardi repeated the same view of the Rialto, S Maria de la Salute and St Mark's Square dozens of times, and each time the painting would be different. Guardi's attempts to imitate Canaletto's style are visible in his vision and technique.
For Guardi the spectacle of Venice surpassed any possible imagination. Nevertheless, the largest part of his work would only have qualified him as one of the vedutisti or continuers of Canaletto. Also, having observed Magnasco's technique, he was then able to adopt this practice of the 'nervous touch', which catches the rays of light or their reflections on the water, and the random attitudes of busy figures and flamboyant architectural reliefs.
Guardi came into his own as a vedutista only after 1750. This turn in his career is often linked to the death of his brother Gianantonio Guardi. Francesco Guardi's earlier works are generally considered inferior to Gianantonio's work in draughtsmanship and in the modelling of the figures. As a painter of vedute Guardi used other artists' compositions such as the etchings of Michele Giovanni Marieschi and Canaletto. It is possible that Guardi was a student in Canaletto's studio after the latter had returned from London in 1756. By then Guardi was in his 40s. Guardi is reported to have exhibited two views of Venice in St Mark's Square in April 1764, both clearly influenced by Canaletto.
Guardi produced some of his best work, the adaptations of Canaletto's series of Venetian Celebrations, between 1770 and 1780. This part of his career saw a gradual change to looser and freer brushwork and lighter colours.
Museum and Gallery Holdings
Ajaccio: Architectural Motif
Amiens (Mus. de Picardie): Smugglers; Ruins; Landscape; Seascape
Bath (Holburne Mus. of Art): Coast Scene (oil on canvas)
Bergamo (Accademia Carrara): Six Architectural Paintings; Masks in Venice; St Mark's Square; Rialto Bridge; Beggars' Canal; St George Island
Berlin: Giudecca in Venice; Balloon Ascending over the Giudecca (1783); St Mark's Square
Besançon: Lagoon; Court Interior
Brussels: Interior of the Church of St Mark; Islands and Monuments of Italy (12 panels); Court of the Doge's Palace
Copenhagen (Statens Mus. for Kunst): Return of the Bucintoro
Dresden: Pius VI Blessing the Venetians at the Scuola di S Marco
Dublin: Doge Marrying the Adriatic
Edinburgh (Nat. Gal. of Scotland): Piazza San Marco, Venice (c. 1775-1780, oil on canvas); Santa Maria della Salute, Venice (oil on canvas); San Giorgio Maggiore, Venice (oil on canvas)
Fort Worth (Kimbell AM): Venice Viewed from the Bacino (c. 1780, oil on canvas)
Glasgow: Bacino di S Marco and Church of S Giorgio Maggiore; St Mark's Square
Grenoble: Doge Crossing St Mark's Square (or the Doge of Venice Carried by Gondoliers after his Election in St Mark's Square)
Helsinki: S Maria della Salute and the Grand Canal
Le Havre: St Mark's Lighthouse in Venice
Lille: Walk in Architectural Scenery
London (NG): View of the Venetian Lagoon with the Tower of Malghera (1770s, oil/wood); An Architectural Caprice (1770-1780, oil on canvas, three paintings); Caprice View with Ruins (1775-after 1780, oil on canvas and oil/wood, five paintings); other views of Venice
London (Wallace Collection): St Giorgio Maggiore (oil on canvas, two versions); Venice: the Dogana with the Giudecca (c. 1760-1776, oil on canvas); Venice: the Grand Canal with the Riva del Vin and Rialto Bridge (c. 1770-1776, oil on canvas); Venice: St Maria della Salute and the Dogana (early 1770s, oil on canvas); Capriccio with the arcade of the Doge's Palace and Saint Giorgio Maggiore (c. 1780, oil/panel); Venice: the Dogama with Saint Maria della Salute (c. 1780, oil on canvas); Capriccio with the Courtyard of the Doge's Palace (late 1770s, oil on canvas)
Lyons: Street in Venice
Milan (Ambrosiana): Maritime Scene; Rural Scene; Interior of Convent
Milan (Pinacoteca di Brera): Grand Canal (two works)
Montauban: Two Landscapes
Montpellier: View of Venice
Montreal (Learmont Collection): Two Scenes in Venice
Moscow (Rumiantsev Mus.): View of Venice (two works)
Munich (Pinakothek): Gala Concert in Venice
Nancy: Fire in the Ducal Palace
Nantes: Meeting in the Ducal Palace; Venice Carnival; View of Fratamone
Narbonne: St Mark's Square
New York (Metropolitan Mus. of Art): The Grand Canal above the Rialto; Landscape with Ruins
Nice: Venetian Merchant on the Quay
Padua: Caprice
Paris (Louvre): Views of Venice; Feast of Giovedì Grasso; Corpus Domini; Procession of the Doge; Hall of the Ducal Palace; Crowning of the Doge
Rennes (MBA): Ruins
Rheims: View of Venice
Rome (Nat. Mus. of Ancient Art): Canal of the Giudecca
Rouen: Palace of the Medici Villa
St Petersburg (Hermitage): Two Architectural Paintings
Strasbourg: Grand Canal; St Mark's Square
Stuttgart: Pius VI in Venice in 1782; State Barge 'Bucintoro' Returning from the Ceremony of the Marriage of Venice to the Sea; The Doge Returning from his Visit to the Church of S Giorgio
Toulouse: Water Festival in Celebration of Ascension Day
Tourcoing: Visiting the Ruins
Venice: Architectural Painting; Small Island (two works); Isola di S Giorgio; Small Island
Venice (Mus. Correr): Painting of Morals; Landscape; Portrait Presumed to be of the Artist; Parlour in a Convent of Women
Vienna (Albertina Mus.): Old Tower in St Mark's Square; Grand Canal with the Churches of S Lucia and La Scala; S Giorgio Maggiore; S Maria della Salute; Piazzetta and the Doge's Palace
Vienna (Kunsthistorisches Mus.): Entrance to the Arsenal in Venice; Dnjepr; St Mark's Square
Auction Records
Paris, 1850: View of the Grand Canal in Venice, FRF 4,100; View of the Customs House in Venice, FRF 3,600
Paris, 1865: Rialto Bridge, FRF 25,000; Salute, FRF 18,000; Dogana, FRF 20,000
London, 1880: Rialto in Venice, FRF 10,760
Paris, 1885: St Mark's Square, FRF 7,300
Paris, 1890: Customs House in Venice, FRF 10,000; Riva degli Schiavoni, FRF 9,000; Piazzetta in Venice, FRF 18,000
Paris, 1899: Doge's Palace in Venice, FRF 13,780
Paris, 1899: St Mark's Square, FRF 20,500; Two Views of the Surroundings of Venice, FRF 16,400
New York, 26-28 Feb 1902: St Mark's Palace, USD 500
New York, 1-2 April 1902: View of St Mark's Square, USD 7,500
London, 21 Dec 1907: S Maria della Salute, GBP 56
London, 12 Dec 1908: Entrance to the Grand Canal, GBP 126
London, 2 July 1909: S Maria della Salute, Venice, GBP 262; View of the Zuecca, GBP 320
London, 16 June 1911: Landscape with Figures; Scene in a Bay (two pendants) GBP 421
Paris, 28 Feb 1919: Aqueduct; Stone Bridge; Portico; Church in Ruins (four) FRF 16,400
Paris, 7 May 1919: Maritime Landscape with Figures in the Surroundings of Venice, FRF 20,100
Paris, 26 and 27 May 1919: Portico, FRF 33,100
Paris, 23-24 June 1919: Entrance to a Port, FRF 22,200; Il Rio dei Mendicanti (bistre wash) FRF 5,100
Paris, 8 March 1920: Island of S Giorgio Maggiore, FRF 20,000; Pyramid; Arch in Ruins (two) FRF 17,600
Paris, 29-30 April 1920: Arcades of the Doge's Palace (two panels) FRF 50,600
Paris, 6-7 May 1920: Equestrian Statue; Arched Door (two) FRF 46,000
Paris, 10-11 May 1920: Bucintoro Festival (pen and wash) FRF 29,500; Water Festival in Venice (pen and wash) FRF 66,700
Paris, 14 May 1920: Piazzetta, FRF 35,000
Paris, 8-10 June 1920: S Giorgio Maggiore (watercolour) FRF 11,825
Paris, 21 April 1921: Venetian Landscapes (two panels) FRF 20,500
Paris, 17 June 1921: View of Venice: Dogana, FRF 19,100
Paris, 4 Dec 1922: Grand Canal in Venice (pen and bistre wash) FRF 7,820
Paris, 20-21 Dec 1922: Venetian Interiors with figures (pen and sepia wash) FRF 4,900
Paris, 17 March 1923: Venice Canal; Venice Canal (two pendants) FRF 29,000
Paris, 18 May 1923: Venice: Senola di S Marco, FRF 12,200
Paris, 6 July 1923: Grand Canal, Venice, GBP 304
Paris, 22 Nov 1923: Small Landing Stage in the Surroundings of Venice, FRF 16,000; Small Bridge; Oratory (two) FRF 42,500
London, 22 Feb 1924: Rialto; Island of S Giorgio Maggiore (two) GBP 199
London, 28 March 1924: Island in the Surroundings of Venice, GBP 131
London, 27 June 1924: Island near Venice, GBP 241
London, 21 Nov 1924: Venice; Italian Landscape (two) GBP 262
London, 15 May 1925: Rialto, Venice, GBP 420
Paris, 8 June 1925: Dogana di Mare in Venice, FRF 60,000; Zattere in Venice, FRF 80,000
London, 10 Dec 1925: Venice: Piazzetta (drawing) GBP 21; Venice: Grand Canal (drawing) GBP 14
London, 7 May 1926: Venice: Entrance to the Grand Canal, GBP 1,155
London, 14 May 1926: Church of S Maria della Salute, Venice, GBP 1,680; Island of S Giorgio Maggiore, GBP 1,050
Paris, 27-28 May 1926: St Mark's Square in Venice, FRF 92,000
Paris, 7-8 June 1928: Grand Canal in Venice (pen and wash) FRF 41,000
London, 25 July 1928: Venice, GBP 920
London, 26 Nov 1928: Riva degli Schiavoni, Venice, GBP 1,092
London, 14 Dec 1928: Giudecca, Venice, GBP 2,047
London, 9 May 1929: Venice, GBP 62
Paris, 13-15 May 1929: Bucintoro Festival in Venice (drawing) FRF 103,000; View of Levico in the Sugana Valley (drawing) FRF 50,000
London, 24 May 1929: Dogana, Venice, GBP 504; S Maria della Salute, Venice, GBP 483
London, 5 July 1929: Island near Venice, GBP 483; Dogana, GBP 378
London, 29 Nov 1929: Town by a River, GBP 325
London, 21 Feb 1930: Venice, GBP 861
London, 27 June 1930: St Mark's Square, Venice, GBP 1,470; Island of S Giorgio Maggiore near Venice, GBP 1,102
Paris, 20-21 April 1932: Entrance to the Monastery, FRF 24,300
Paris, 1 Dec 1932: Market Square (gouache) FRF 52,000; Capriccio; Capriccio (two pendants) FRF 68,000
Paris, 14 Dec 1933: Canal in Venice, FRF 69,000
Paris, 8 May 1934: Rialto Bridge, FRF 63,000; Piazzetta, FRF 26,700
London, 1 June 1934: Lagoons, Venice, GBP 346
Paris, 26 June 1934: Venice: St Mark's Square, FRF 61,000
Paris, 7 Dec 1934: Dome; Arcades (two) FRF 30,000
New York, 4 Jan 1935: S Giorgio Maggiore, USD 525
Paris, 30 Nov-1 Dec 1936: View of the Grand Canal in Venice, FRF 200,000
London, 9 July 1937: St Mark's Square, Venice, GBP 367; Grand Canal, Venice, GBP 126; St Mark's Square, Venice, GBP 257
London, 22 July 1937: Venice: Grand Canal (drawing) GBP 820
London, 25 Feb 1938: Corner of St Mark's Basilica, Venice, GBP 472; Rialto, Venice, GBP 351; S Giorgio Maggiore, Venice, GBP 330
Paris, 12 May 1938: Visit to the Ruins, FRF 74,100; Portico in Ruins, FRF 16,000
Paris, 15 June 1938: Court of the Doge's Palace (pen and bistre wash) FRF 23,000
London, 25 Nov 1938: Giudecca, Venice, GBP 682
New York, 20 April 1939: Italian Landscape, USD 1,300
London, 28 July 1939: St Mark's Square, Venice, GBP 56; Grand Canal, Venice, GBP 46
London, 19 June 1940: Grand Canal, Venice, GBP 40
London, 28 May 1941: Balloon Ascending, GBP 330
Paris, 29 May 1941: Rio dei Mendicanti in Venice, FRF 280,000
Paris, 27 June 1941: Portico; Entrance to a Palace (two pendants) FRF 160,000
London, 13 Dec 1941: Island of S Giorgio Maggiore, Venice, GBP 1,837; Island of S Giorgio Maggiore, Venice, GBP 840; Church of the Redentore, Venice, GBP 1,155; Dogana, Venice, GBP 2,520; Dogana, Venice, GBP 36
London, 27 March 1942: Giardini Publici a Capello (drawing) GBP 13
Paris, 15 June 1942: S Giorgio Maggiore, FRF 190,000; Church of S Maria della Salute in Venice, FRF 192,000; Rialto Bridge in Venice, FRF 232,000; Palace in Ruins by the Sea, FRF 103,000
New York, 5 Nov 1942: Grand Canal, Venice, USD 1,850
Paris, 17 Dec 1942: Bucintoro Festival, Rialto Bridge (school of Francesco Guardi) FRF 61,000
New York, 7-9 Jan 1943: Roman Ruins (drawing) USD 750; Classical Ruins (drawing) USD 120
Paris, 17 March 1943: S Giorgio Maggiore, FRF 625,000
London, 2 April 1943: Feast Day, Venice, GBP 42
London, 27 Oct 1943: Venetian Landscape, GBP 230
London, 11 Feb 1944: River, GBP 105
Paris, 26 April 1944: Palace in Ruins by the Sea, FRF 380,000
London, 9 June 1944: Venice (drawing) GBP 115
New York, 4 Jan 1945: Morning; Sunset, GBP 5,800
London, 1 June 1945: Feast Day on the Grand Canal, GBP 157
London, 22 June 1945: Gates of the Arsenal, Venice, GBP 68
Paris, Oct 1945-July 1946: Riva degli Schiavoni in Venice, FRF 1,250,000; Street Scene (28 Dec 1789, drawing and sepia wash) FRF 31,500; View of Venice (pen and sepia wash) FRF 86,000
London, 13 Feb 1946: Young Girl, GBP 900
London, 26 June 1946: Entrance to the Arsenal in Venice, GBP 1,350; Rialto Bridge in Venice, GBP 1,400
Paris, 5-6 June 1956: Venetian Capriccio; View from the Bridge over the Brenta in Dolo (two pendants) FRF 1,350,000
Bern, 22 Nov 1956: View of the Ducal Palace from a Gondola (pen and bistre wash) CHF 6,000
London, 28 Nov 1956: View of the Grand Canal, GBP 7,500
Paris, 3 Dec 1957: Buildings and Figures at the Entrance to a Port (pen and sepia wash) FRF 1,210,000
Paris, 19 March 1958: Venetian Capriccio, FRF 3,200,000
New York, 23 April 1958: Campo S Maria Formosa, Venice, USD 6,000
London, 2 July 1958: Village Scene, GBP 550
Versailles, 7 March 1959: View of the Lagoon in the Surroundings of Venice, FRF 7,700,000
London, 24 June 1959: View of the Campo of St John and St Paul, GBP 9,000
New York, 12 Nov 1960: Island of S Giorgio Maggiore, USD 10,500
London, 7 Dec 1960: View of the Small St Mark's Square, GBP 4,100
London, 14 June 1961: View of Venice, GBP 17,000
Paris, 28 June 1961: Capriccio, FRF 21,000
London, 23 Nov 1962: Sea Port Capriccio, Gns 14,500
London, 4 Dec 1964: S Giorgio Maggiore, Venice, Gns 24,000
London, 29 Oct 1965: View of the Grand Canal, Gns 34,000
Paris, 1 Dec 1966: View of the Grand Canal in Venice, FRF 570,000
London, 10 July 1968: Landscapes in Ruins with Figures, GBP 50,000
London, 26 June 1970: View of the Grand Canal in Venice, Gns 75,000
Milan, 9 Nov 1971: Fire of S Marcuola, ITL 60,000,000
Stockholm, 19 April 1972: Landscape of the Venice Surroundings, SEK 250,000
London, 7 July 1972: Steep Coast with Boats and Figures, Gns 42,000
London, 2 April 1976: Bacino di S Marco, Venice (oil on canvas, 44 × 66¾ ins/112 × 169.5 cm) GBP 40,000
Paris, 23 June 1976: Capriccio (oil on panel, 12 × 9¼ ins/30.5 × 23.5 cm) FRF 180,000
London, 25 March 1977: Entrance to the Grand Canal, Venice (oil on panel, 9½ × 14 ins/24 × 35.5 cm) GBP 17,000
Paris, 23 Feb 1978: Portico with Parrot (pen, 15¼ × 13 ins/39 × 33 cm) FRF 80,000
London, 28 March 1979: St Mark's Square, Venice (pen, 6½ × 4¾ ins/16.7 × 12 cm) GBP 3,500
London, 24 June 1980: Venetian Capriccio (pen and wash/paper, 9¼ × 7¼ ins/23.5 × 18.7 cm) GBP 32,000
London, 8 July 1983: Grand Canal, Venice (oil on canvas, 27 × 47½ ins/68.6 × 120.6 cm) GBP 150,000
London, 4 July 1984: Il Rio dei Mendicanti with Gondolas, Venice (black chalk, pen, brown ink and wash, 9 × 14¼ ins/22.7 × 36.4 cm) GBP 12,000
London, 13 Dec 1985: S Giorgio Maggiore, Venice (oil on canvas, 13½ × 20¾ ins/34 × 53 cm) GBP 180,000
New York, 17 Nov 1986: Hunting Scene in a Wood (pen, brown ink and wash/traces of black chalk, 18 × 25¼ ins/45.5 × 64 cm) USD 90,000
Bern, 17 May 1987: Entrance Court to the Ridotto in S Moisè in Venice (pen in bistre/wash, 7½ × 6¼ ins/19 × 16 cm) CHF 195,000
London, 6 July 1987: Grand Canal with the Ca' Pesaro (recto); Grand Canal in Santo Stae (verso) (black chalk, pen and brown wash, 17¼ × 23¼ ins/44 × 59.3 cm) GBP 390,000
New York, 14 Jan 1988: View of the Ducal Palace from the Sea with Small Boats and Figures (oil on canvas, 24 × 28¾ ins/61 × 73 cm) USD 440,000
New York, 3 June 1988: Fortress on Fire by the Sea (oil on canvas, 6¾ × 9½ ins/17 × 24 cm) USD 38,500
London, 8 July 1988: S Pietro di Castello in Venice with Small Craft and Gondolas in the Foreground (oil on canvas, 13½ × 18½ ins/34 × 46.7 cm) GBP 264,000
New York, 11 Jan 1989: St Mark's Square in Venice (gouache, 5½ × 9¼ ins/13.7 × 23.3 cm) USD 3,080
New York, 12 Jan 1989: Capriccio with Arches in Ruins and Figures (oil on panel, 7½ × 5¾ ins/19 × 14.5 cm) USD 85,250
Milan, 4 April 1989: Capriccio with a Bridge and Figures; Capriccio with Ruins and Figures (oil on panel, two pendants, 7 × 4½ ins/18 × 11.5 cm) ITL 128,000,000
New York, 2 June 1989: Figures under an Arch in Ruins; Inside Wall of the Church Garden (oil on canvas, two pendants, each 7¾ × 9¾ ins/20 × 25 cm) USD 231,000
New York, 27 Oct 1989: View of the Customs House with S Maria della Salute; Island of S Giorgio Maggiore and the Giudecca (oil on canvas, a pair, each 20¼ × 33 ins/51.5 × 84 cm) USD 4,510,000
Monaco, 1 Dec 1989: View of the Giudecca and Zattere in Venice (oil on canvas, 47¼ × 80¾ ins/120 × 205 cm) FRF 94,350,000
London, 8 Dec 1989: Loredan Villa near Paese with Elegant Figures Strolling in the Vicinity (oil on canvas, 19 × 30½ ins/48 × 77.5 cm) GBP 3,080,000
New York, 5 April 1990: Capriccio with an Arch in Ruins and Other Buildings (oil on panel, 6 × 4½ ins/15 × 11.5 cm) USD 110,000
London, 6 July 1990: Island of S Michele with the Venetian Lagoon (oil on canvas, 12 × 18¼ ins/30.2 × 46.5 cm) GBP 506,000
New York, 8 Jan 1991: Capriccio of the Palladio Plan for the Rialto Bridge (ink and wash, 11 × 17½ ins/27.8 × 44.4 cm) USD 143,000
New York, 11 Jan 1991: St Mark's Square in Venice Looking towards S Geminiano (oil on canvas, 33 × 50¼ ins/83.9 × 127.6 cm) USD 726,000
Paris, 9 April 1991: View of St Mark's Square (oil on canvas, 28 × 37½ ins/71 × 95.5 cm) FRF 3,700,000
London, 24 May 1991: Capriccio of Classical Ruins with a Peasant and Two Children and Other Figures Admiring a Statue (oil on canvas, 41¼ × 48½ ins/104.5 × 123.2 cm) GBP 297,000
Monaco, 21 June 1991: Venetian Capriccio (oils on canvas, a pair, each 9 × 6¾ ins/23 × 17 cm) FRF 399,600
New York, 22 May 1992: S Giorgio in Venice with the Arrow of the Giudecca in the Background (oil on canvas, 16 × 19¾ ins/40.6 × 50.2 cm) USD 1,265,000
London, 8 July 1992: Capriccio of a Landscape with a Rider Crossing a Bridge near a Tower in Ruins (oil on canvas, 11¼ × 19¼ ins/28.5 × 49 cm) GBP 77,000
Milan, 3 Dec 1992: Capriccio of the Lagoon (oil on canvas, 6¾ × 9 ins/17 × 23 cm) ITL 45,200,000
New York, 15 Jan 1993: Ducal Palace in Venice (oil on canvas, 21¾ × 28¼ ins/55.2 × 71.8 cm) USD 277,500
London, 9 July 1993: Figures in Fancy-dress Costume at the Ridotto during the Venice Carnival (oil on canvas, 30½ × 42¼ ins/77.5 × 107.5 cm) GBP 606,500
Paris, 24 June 1994: Capriccio: Washerwomen and Figures by a River; Capriccio: Figure Sitting at the Foot of a Tower in Ruins (oil on panel, a pair, 9¼ × 6½ ins/23.4 × 16.4 cm and 92 × 6½ ins/233.4 × 16.8 cm) FRF 580,000
Paris, 30 Nov 1994: Raising of Lazarus (oil on canvas, 43¼ × 37½ ins/110 × 95 cm) FRF 1,500,000
London, 9 Dec 1994: Dinner and Ball at the Theatre of S Benedetto in Venice on 22 January 1782 in Honour of Conti del Nord (oil on canvas, 26½ × 36 ins/67 × 91.5 cm) GBP 309,500
Paris, 12 June 1995: View of St Mark's Square Looking towards the Clock Tower (oil on canvas, 12½ × 20½ ins/32 × 52 cm) FRF 1,600,000
New York, 12 Jan 1996: Rialto Bridge in Venice with Gondolas (oil on canvas, 14¾ × 20 ins/37.5 × 50.8 cm) USD 156,500
Paris, 14 June 1996: View of the Campo of the Santi Apostoli (c. 1756, black chalk, pen and brown wash, 14½ × 22¾ ins/37 × 58 cm) FRF 170,000
London, 3 July 1996: Landscape with a Rustic Tower by a Lake (oil on panel, 15¾ × 20 ins/40 × 50.5 cm) GBP 51,000
New York, 3 Oct 1996: Figures in a Rural Landscape before the Storm (oil on canvas, 14¾ × 18¼ ins/37.5 × 46.4 cm) USD 17,250
Paris, 9 Dec 1996: Architectural Capriccio with Figures (oil on panel, 8¼ × 6 ins/21 × 15.5 cm) FRF 180,000
New York, 30 Jan 1997: Capriccio with an Arch in Ruins, a Villa in the Distance, and Figures in the Foreground (oil on canvas, 12¼ × 20 ins/30.8 × 50.5 cm) USD 75,100
New York, 31 Jan 1997: St Mark's Square in Venice: View to the East in the Direction of the Basilica (oil on canvas, 15½ × 25 ins/39.4 × 63.5 cm) USD 200,500
London, 4 July 1997: Capriccio of an Arch in Ruins with a Lantern; Capriccio of a Tower on a Bridge with a Corinthian Temple in the Distance (oil on panel, a pair, oval, 10¾ × 8¾ ins/27.4 × 22.4 cm and 11 × 8¾ ins/28 × 22.4 cm) GBP 180,500
London, 3 Dec 1997: Capriccio of a Temple in Ruins at the Side of a Bridge, Fishermen in the Foreground and the Venetian Lagoon in the Distance (oil on panel, 7¾ × 6 ins/19.7 × 15.2 cm) GBP 117,000
New York, 29 Jan 1998: View of the Island of the Giudecca with the Church of the Redeemer, Venice (oil on panel, 12¼ × 20¼ ins/30.8 × 51.4 cm) USD 1,322,500
Paris, 3 April 1998: Rialto Bridge and Riva del Vin (brown pen with grey and brown wash, 11 × 17¼ ins/27 × 44 cm) FRF 450,000
New York, 28 Jan 1999: Punta della Dogana and Santa Maria della Salute, Venice (oil on canvas, 31 × 50 ins/79 × 128 cm) USD 500,000
New York, 28 Jan 1999: Venice, View of the Grand Canal with Rialto Bridge (oil on canvas, 17 × 24 ins/44 × 60 cm) USD 525,000
New York, 28 Jan 2000: Views from the Bacino de San Marco, Venice (oil on canvas, a pair, 20 × 33 ins/52 × 85 cm) USD 5,100,000
London, 14 Dec 2000: Venice, the Festival of Giovedi Grasso in the Piazzetta in 1758 (1758, oil on canvas, 20 × 34 ins/51 × 86 cm) GBP 600,000
London, 13 Dec 2001: Coastal Capriccio with Fishing Boats at Anchor in a Bay (oil on canvas, 58 × 78 ins/147 × 198 cm) GBP 150,000
New York, 5 June 2002: View of the Palazzo Ducale as Seen from the Bacino (oil on canvas, 24 × 29 ins/61 × 73 cm) USD 575,000
London, 11 Dec 2002: Entrance to the Grand Canal (oil on canvas, 33 × 51 ins/84 × 129 cm) GBP 720,000
London, 9 April 2003: Capriccio of Buildings on the Laguna with Figures by a Ruined Arch (oil on canvas, 22 × 17 ins/56 × 42 cm) GBP 240,000
London, 10 July 2003: Architectural Capriccio with Figures before an Open Door (oil on canvas, 9 × 7 ins/23 × 17 cm) GBP 155,000
Paris, 25 June 2004: View of the Grand Canal (oil on canvas, 13 × 21 ins/34 × 53 cm) EUR 420,000
Milan, 12 Oct 2004: Capriccio with Ruins and Pyramids (oil on board, 36 × 52 ins/92 × 132 cm) EUR 1,000,000
Bibliography
- Pallucchini, Rodolfo: Visto da Vicino, le pitture di Francesco Guardi all' Angelo Raffaele di Venezia, Emporium, Venice, 1938.
- Maffeis, F. de: Antonio Guardi, Verona, 1951.
- Byam Shaw, J.: The Drawings of Francesco Guardi, London, 1951.
- Venise, Skira, Geneva, 1956.
- Levey, Michael: Painting in Eighteenth-century Venice, London, 1959.
- Exhibitions of Flowers by Francesco Guardi, Hallsborough Gallery, 1964.
- Binion, Alice: Antonio and Francesco Guardi, their Life and Milieu: With a Catalogue of their Figure Drawings, New York, 1976.
- Guardi, Tiepolo and Canaletto, Canterbury Royal Museum, 1985.
- Busse, Jacques: L'Impressionnisme, une dialectique du regard, Ides et Calendes, Neuchâtel, 1995.
- Succi, Dario: Francesco Guardi, Anthèse, Arcueil, 1995.
