(Venice 1712–1793)
Capriccio with a ruinous arch and a villa in the background,
oil on canvas, 30.7 x 50.8 cm, framed

Provenance:
with Frank T. Sabin, London;
with Knoedler Galleries, New York, 1925, no. 16159;
Collection of A. E. Hamill (1909–1999), Asheville, since 1925 (bought for 3,084 $);
thence by descent to his daughter Judith Hamill, Chicago;
sale, Sotheby’s, New York, 30 January 1997, lot 172 (as Francesco Guardi);
sale, Christie’s, New York, 28 January 2009, lot 85 (as Francesco Guardi);
where acquired by the present owner

Exhibited:
Springfield, Michele and Donald D’Amour Museum of Fine Arts, Francesco Guardi, 20 February – 21 March 1937, cat. no. 10 (as Francesco Guardi);
North Carolina, The Ackland Art Museum, on loan, 25 September 1977 – 24 September 1992, no. L1977.57.1 (as Francesco Guardi);
North Carolina, The Ackland Art Museum, Classical Subjects and Styles: The Abundant Tradition, 29 June – 2 September 1984 (as Francesco Guardi);
North Carolina, The Ackland Museum, Exhibition of Paintings and Sculptures in Collection, 15 May – 6 September 1987 (as Francesco Guardi)

Literature:
J. L. Clarke Jr (ed.), Francesco Guardi, 1712–1793, exhibition catalogue, Springfield 1937, no. 10;
R. Pallucchini, I disegni del Guardi al Museo Correr di Venezia, Venice 1943, p. 56, mentioned under no. 138 (as Guardi);
L. Rossi Bortolatto, L’opera completa di Francesco Guardi, Milan 1974, p. 112, no. 389 (as Francesco Guardi, circa 1770);
A. Morassi, Guardi. L’opera completa di Antonio e Francesco Guardi, Venice 1975/1984, vol. I, pp. 280, 492, cat. no. 978, vol. II, fig. 870 (as Francesco Guardi)

The present painting was once part of a series of four capricci (see Op. cit Morassi 1975/1984, cat. nos. 854, 863 and 980). When describing another painting in the set, Morassi states: ‘come gli altri dipinti di questa serie la presente è opera bellissima’ [like the other paintings of this series, the present is an outstanding work] (op. cit Morassi 1975/1984, p. 470). He notes the particularly bold brushwork and the strong coloring of the present painting, which he dates to between 1760­–1770. A preparatory drawing for the present work is conserved in the Museo Correr, Venice (see op. cit. Pallucchini 1943, p. 56, cat. no. 138).

Francesco Guardi was one of the great masters of Venetian vedutisimo, view painting. He trained in the family studio with his elder brother Gian Antonio and spent his entire life in Venice. Initially was a history and genre painter, a portraitist and only later a painter of landscapes and capricci. His great acclaim arrived at an advanced stage of his career, probably around the mid-1750s, when he began to dedicate himself to vedute, view painting.