Old Masters Evening Sale, 6 July 2017
Francesco Guardi The Rialto Bridge with the Palazzo dei Camerlenghi. Estimate on request.
London – Christie’s Old Masters Evening Sale, 6 July 2017, will be led by Francesco Guardi’s masterpiece The Rialto Bridge with the Palazzo dei Camerlenghi (estimate on request), which is expected to fetch more than £25 million. This magnificent picture is one of the celebrated pair of views of the Grand Canal at the Rialto, which are widely regarded as the most accomplished works of Guardi’s early maturity. Ambitious in scale and startlingly innovative both in design and pictorial mood, this work stands among the masterpieces of eighteenth-century European art. The picture is prominently signed and exceptionally well preserved, having been offered for sale only once in its history. The work will be exhibited during Christie’s New York Classic Week (22-26 April), in Venice (8-15 May) and in Hong Kong (26-29 May), before returning to London where it will highlight London Classic Week (1-13 July).
Henry Pettifer, Head of Christie’s Old Master Paintings EMERI: “This majestic view of Venice is one of the great masterpieces of eighteenth-century view painting. Painted in the mid-1760s, at the height of the artist’s career, this is a monumental tour de force displaying the full range of Guardi’s technical virtuosity and his unique ability to capture the atmosphere and sensuous experience of being in Venice. After the record-breaking Old Master sales at Christie’s in 2016, with the Rubens Lot and his Daughters and the pair of Rembrandt portraits sold by private treaty, we are confident this great Guardi will arouse enormous interest from global collectors of masterpieces, from Old Masters to Contemporary, this July.”
Taking its vantage point from what is today the view from the Palazzo Sernagiotto, Guardi illustrates iconic landmarks of the Venetian landscape including the Palazzo Civran, the Fondaco dei Tedeschi, long famous for its murals by Giorgione and Titian, the Palazzo dei Camerlenghi, the Fruit Market and the supremely elegant Rialto Bridge itself, built in 1588–91 to the design of Antonio da Ponte. This was the spectacular scene that would have greeted tourists in the eighteenth century as they entered Venice from the south. Through his flickering delicacy of touch and masterful suffusing of colour, Guardi creates an expression of atmosphere like no other view painter of his time.
The painting has a remarkable provenance having been offered for sale only once before. It was acquired in 1768 by Chaloner Arcedeckne (circa 1743–1804) during his Grand Tour and remained in the family until 1891. It was then sold privately via Christie’s, along with its pendant, for £3,850, to the great collector Sir Edward Cecil Guinness, 1st Bt., later 1st Lord, and 1st Earl of Iveagh (1847–1927), in whose family it has since remained.
The painting also has a rich exhibition history and featured most recently at the Canaletto and his Rivals exhibition at the National Gallery, London, and the National Gallery of Art, Washington in 2010-11. Guardi’s impressionistic views of Venice, bathed in atmospheric luminosity, anticipate the work of many of the most important painters of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries who worked in the city such as Joseph Mallord William Turner and Claude Monet.
About Christie’s
Founded in 1766, Christie’s is a world-leading art and luxury business. Renowned and trusted for its expert live and online auctions, as well as its bespoke private sales, Christie’s offers a full portfolio of global services to its clients, including art appraisal, art financing, international real estate and education. Christie’s has a physical presence in 46 countries, throughout the Americas, Europe, Middle East, and Asia Pacific, with flagship international sales hubs in New York, London, Hong Kong, Paris and Geneva. It also is the only international auction house authorized to hold sales in mainland China (Shanghai).
Christie’s auctions span more than 80 art and luxury categories, at price points ranging from $200 to over $100 million. Christie’s has sold 8 of the 10 most important single-owner collections in history, including the Paul G. Allen Collection—the most valuable collection ever offered at auction (November 2022). In recent years, Christie’s has achieved the world record price for an artwork at auction (Leonardo da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi, 2017), for a 20th century artwork (Andy Warhol’s Shot Sage Blue Marilyn, 2022) and for a work by a living artist (Jeff Koons’ Rabbit, 2019).
Christie’s Private Sales offers a seamless service for buying and selling art, jewellery and watches outside of the auction calendar, working exclusively with Christie’s specialists at a client’s individual pace.
Recent innovations at Christie’s include the groundbreaking sale of the first NFT for a digital work of art ever offered at a major auction house (Beeple’s Everydays, March 2021), with the unprecedented acceptance of cryptocurrency as a means of payment. As an industry leader in digital innovation, Christie’s also continues to pioneer new technologies that are redefining the business of art, including use of hologram technology to tour life-size 3D objects around the world, and the creation of viewing and bidding experiences that integrate augmented reality, global livestreaming, buy-now channels, and hybrid sales formats.
Christie’s is dedicated to advancing responsible culture throughout its business and communities worldwide, including achieving sustainability by reducing our carbon emissions by 50% and pledging to be net zero by 2030, and actively using its platform in the art world to amplify under-represented voices and support positive change.
Browse, bid, discover, and join us for the best of art and luxury at: www.christies.com or by downloading Christie’s apps. The COVID-related re-opening status of our global locations is available here.