A courtyard with elegantly dressed figures

This previously unrecorded work is a fine example of the lively capricci that Francesco Guardi executed in his full maturity, often for Venetian patrons. Here, Guardi repeats the composition of a painting published by Antonio Morassi (Guardi, i dipinti, Venice, 1984, I, p. 452, no. 765; II, fig. 696).