IMAGE DETAILS

DYS44 Lampronti Gallery

Giovanni Antonio Canal called Canaletto (Venice, 1697-1768)
Capriccio of the Prisons of San Marco, circa 1744
Oil on canvas
105.5 x 127.5 cm
Provenance: Venice, Palazzo Mangilli-Valmarana, commissioned by Joseph Consul Smith (circa 1674-1770); London, King George III, 1762; Dr. Grant David Yeats (1773-1836); London, sale, Christie's, April 8th, 1815, lot 95; London, sale, Christie's, January 13th, 1816, lot 57; London, the Earl of Annaly; Liverpool, John H. Paris, 15 & 17 Leece Street, early 20th century; Ireland, C.B. Ponsonby; New York, Koetser-Lilienfeld Galleries, 1948; Comte de Messay London, Edward Speelman; London, Partridge Gallery, 1957; New York, Schaeffer Galleries, until 1964; Hans S. Schaeffer
Literature: J. Smith, Manuscript Catalogue of his Paintings bought by George III (Windsor), among n° 85-97; 'Note apart', n° 9 'The Publick Prison at St. Mark's'; W.G. Constable, Canaletto, Oxford, 1962, I, pl. 68; II, p. 356, n° 374; M. Levey, The Later Italian Pictures in the Collection of Her Majesty the Queen, London, 1964, p. 35, fig. XII; T.J. McCormick, 'The Canaletto Exhibition in Canada', The Burlington Magazine, CVII, No. 742, January 1965, p. 29, fig. 34; L. Puppi, L'opera completa del Canaletto, Milan, 1968, no. 227, repr.; F. Vivian, Il Console Smith mercante e collezionista, Vicenza, 1971, p. 197; W.G. Constable, Canaletto, 2nd ed. revised by J.G. Links, Oxford, 1976, I, pl. 68; II, pp. 382, n° 374, 433, under n° 451, and 439, under n° 460; W.L. Barcham, The Imaginary View Scenes of Antonio Canaletto, New York/London, 1977, pp. 157-158 and 161, fig. 153; O. Millar, catalogue of the exhibition Canaletto. Paintings & Drawings, The Queen's Gallery, London, 1980-1981, p. 68, note 1; J.G. Links, Canaletto. The Complete Paintings, London, 1981, n° 186, repr.; A. Corboz, Canaletto. Una Venezia immaginaria, Milan, 1985, I, p. 333, fig. 399; II, p. 604, n° p. 123, repr.; W.G. Constable, Canaletto, 2nd ed. revised by J.G. Links reissued with supplement and additional plates, Oxford, 1989, I, pp. lv-lvi, pl. 68; II, pp. 382, n° 374, 433, under n° 451, 439, under n° 460, and 737; M. Levey, The Later Italian Pictures in the Collection of Her Majesty the Queen, 2nd ed., Cambridge, 1991, p. 43, under n° 408, fig. 13; The Splendours of Venice. View paintings from the Eighteenth Century, exh. cat. ed. by. V. Rossi and A. Hilliam, Lampronti Gallery London, December 1st-24th, 2014, Rome 2014, cat. 1 pp. 6-9; C. Beddington in Da Artemisia a Hackert. La collezione di un antiquario, exh. catalogue, Reggia di Caserta, Foligno 2019, cat. 49 pp. 106-107
Exhibitions: Louisville, Kentucky, The J.B. Speed Art Museum, Eighteenth Century Venetian Painting, 1948; Toronto, Art Gallery of Toronto, 17 October-15 November 1964; Ottawa, National Gallery of Canada, Canaletto, 4 December 1964-10 January 1965; Montreal, Museum of Fine Arts, Canaletto, 29 January-28 February 1965; Da Artemisia a Hackert. La collezione di un antiquario, Reggia di Caserta, 16 September-16 January 2020

Giovanni Antonio Canal, known as Canaletto, was born in 1697 and became a renowned Italian painter celebrated for his stunning depictions of Venetian landscapes and cityscapes. He gained popularity for his vedute - detailed and picturesque representations of city views - and capricci - imaginative architectural compositions that blended reality with fantasy. His work particularly resonated with British aristocrats on their grand tours of Venice.

This extraordinary capriccio features the Public Prisons of San Marco, one of the most prominent structures on the Venetian Molo, adjacent to the Doge's Palace and connected by the iconic Bridge of Sighs. This painting has the most distinguished provenance a painting by Canaletto can have. It was painted for the artist's great patron and agent Joseph Consul Smith, being part of a series of thirteen canvases, presumably intended as overdoors to decorate the Palazzo Mangilli-Valmarana, Smith's house on the Grand Canal just above the Rialto Bridge. In 1762, Smith sold the cream of his collection to King George III of England, including this painting.