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Lot Essay
Dr Bozena Anna Kowalczyk has suggested that the present drawing dates from circa 1746, just prior to Canaletto's departure for England. A drawing at the British Museum dating from the artist's first trip to Rome in 1719-20 shows the same view as the present lot, with minor differences in the position of the figures and the details of the architecture, and may have served as an aide-memoire for the composition (W.G. Constable, Canaletto, Giovanni Antonio Canal, 1697-1768, 2nd edition, revised by J. G. Links, Oxford, 1976, I, p. 219, II , no. 713/229). The most notable difference between the two drawings is Canaletto's whimsical introduction of purely Venetian tall chimneys into the otherwise accurate scene.
The British Museum drawing is one of a series of twenty-three views drawn on the first Roman trip, many of which where engraved by G.B. Brustolon, which Canaletto later used as the basis for finished drawings. Another example is the view of the Church of Saints Domenico and Sisto (W.G. Constable, op. cit., no. 713/234) which is reprised in a finished drawing bought by Consul Smith for King George III in 1763 and now at Windsor (W.G. Constable, op. cit., no. 724).
The majority of the finished drawings of Roman views can be dated to the 1740s or later, although it is not known what encouraged Canaletto to return to his early folio of drawings for inspiration. The traditional theory that he may have paid a second visit to Rome has been discounted but there remains the possibility that the departure of his nephew Belotto on a voyage south in 1742-3 provided the impetus. (C. Beddington, 'L'uso dei disegni romani di Canaletto', in Canaletto, prima maniera, exhib. cat., Venice, Fondazione Cini, 2001, p. 47).
The British Museum drawing is one of a series of twenty-three views drawn on the first Roman trip, many of which where engraved by G.B. Brustolon, which Canaletto later used as the basis for finished drawings. Another example is the view of the Church of Saints Domenico and Sisto (W.G. Constable, op. cit., no. 713/234) which is reprised in a finished drawing bought by Consul Smith for King George III in 1763 and now at Windsor (W.G. Constable, op. cit., no. 724).
The majority of the finished drawings of Roman views can be dated to the 1740s or later, although it is not known what encouraged Canaletto to return to his early folio of drawings for inspiration. The traditional theory that he may have paid a second visit to Rome has been discounted but there remains the possibility that the departure of his nephew Belotto on a voyage south in 1742-3 provided the impetus. (C. Beddington, 'L'uso dei disegni romani di Canaletto', in Canaletto, prima maniera, exhib. cat., Venice, Fondazione Cini, 2001, p. 47).