A capriccio of a rustic tower beside a lake

In the latter decades of his life Francesco Guardi created imaginary compositions or capricci, following the example of Canaletto and earlier practitioners of the genre from the seventeenth century. Where Guardi differed from his predecessors was in his poetic imagination, his rapid technique and in his daring palette, all on display in this painting. Guardi's capricci are more purely imaginative than Canaletto's, and tend to repeat motifs such as decaying classical arches, Gothic ruins, outlying churches and dilapidated bridges often inhabited by peasants, fishermen, washerwomen and sometimes even elegantly dressed figures. It is clear from the number that have survived that these capricci, mostly small, had a considerable vogue in Venice and with Grand Tourists.
This exquisitely painted capriccio shows a rustic tower beside a lagoon. A highly comparable view, differing only in the figures and slightly in its viewpoint, was dated by Morassi to the artist's mature period (A. Morassi, Antonio e Francesco Guardi, Milan, 1973, I, p. 464, no. 830; II, plate 756). The setting with the tower is also reproduced in a view forming one of a pair now in the National Gallery of Scotland (ibid, I, pp. 475-6, no. 894; II, plate 802), which is considered to have been painted in the 1770s.
Guardi created some of his most personal and expressive works in the last twenty years of his life. His views became less detailed and his brushwork more shimmering. The subtle colour harmonies of creams, pinks, blues and greys in this work are animated by the application of small dots of white paint, in a style that is known as pittura di tocco, which proved highly influential to the Pointillists and Neo-Impressionism in later years. Guardi's free handling of paint is particularly well preserved in this picture, which was painted on a panel of unusually large scale in Guardi's oeuvre.