拍品專文
William James was a painter of topographical views who lived in London in the second half of the Eighteenth Century. James exhibited both at the Royal Academy and the Society of Artists from 1761 to 1771, becoming a member of the society of Artists in 1766. When Canaletto visited London in 1746, James became both his assistance and pupil. His debt to Canaletto is obvious and like his master, he painted views of both London and Venice. Works by James can be seen at Hampton Court, particularly the London views. James emulated Canaletto's style sometimes even making exact copies, but in a higher range of colours and slightly handling than those of Canaletto's.
This view is of a stretch of the Grnad Canal between the church of San Stae (almost equidistant from the Scalzi and the Rialto) and the bend immidiately before the Rialto Bridge. The scene is dominated by Domenico Rossi's sparkling white facade of 1709-10 of the Church of Sant' Eustachio, always known as San Stae, surmounted by Antonio Corradini's statues of the Redeemer, Faith and Hope. The church still contains altarpieces painted for it in 1722 by Sebastiano Ricci, Piazzetta and Giambattista Tiepolo. Agianst its far flank is the small Scuola of the Gold-Beaters' Guild of 1711, from which the Ponte Giovanelli crosses the Rio di San Stae and leads to the Palazzo Coccina Giunti Foscarini Giovanelli, where Doge Marco Foscarini was born in 1695. The tall building which follows is the magnificent Ca' Pesaro. Designed by Baldassare Longhena and begun in 1652, this is one of the greatest Venetian Baroque palaces and now houses the Gallery of Modern Art. The view then stretches beyond to the Fabbriche Nuove di Rialto. Most of the buildings on the North side of the Grand Canal are similar immediately recognizable today. They include (from the far left) the Palazzi Barbarigo, Sulian, Ruoda and Gussoni Grimani della Vida and , after the Rio di Noale, the Palazzi Boldu Ghisi Contarini and Fontana Rezzonico.
This view is of a stretch of the Grnad Canal between the church of San Stae (almost equidistant from the Scalzi and the Rialto) and the bend immidiately before the Rialto Bridge. The scene is dominated by Domenico Rossi's sparkling white facade of 1709-10 of the Church of Sant' Eustachio, always known as San Stae, surmounted by Antonio Corradini's statues of the Redeemer, Faith and Hope. The church still contains altarpieces painted for it in 1722 by Sebastiano Ricci, Piazzetta and Giambattista Tiepolo. Agianst its far flank is the small Scuola of the Gold-Beaters' Guild of 1711, from which the Ponte Giovanelli crosses the Rio di San Stae and leads to the Palazzo Coccina Giunti Foscarini Giovanelli, where Doge Marco Foscarini was born in 1695. The tall building which follows is the magnificent Ca' Pesaro. Designed by Baldassare Longhena and begun in 1652, this is one of the greatest Venetian Baroque palaces and now houses the Gallery of Modern Art. The view then stretches beyond to the Fabbriche Nuove di Rialto. Most of the buildings on the North side of the Grand Canal are similar immediately recognizable today. They include (from the far left) the Palazzi Barbarigo, Sulian, Ruoda and Gussoni Grimani della Vida and , after the Rio di Noale, the Palazzi Boldu Ghisi Contarini and Fontana Rezzonico.