Guardi, Francesco; Scene under the arch of a temple, with figures assembled about the steps; beyond, a fine gateway; Very slight, in pen, washed with bistre; Venetian School; ca.1730-1793.

Scene under the arch of a temple, with figures assembled about the steps; beyond, a fine gateway; Very slight, in pen, washed with bistre.

Bequeathed by Rev. Alexander Dyce

Historical significance: Francesco Guardi was the most celebrated member of a family of eighteenth-century Venetian artists. After the death of his brother Giovanni in the middle of the century, Francesco established himself as a Veduta painter. Although he borrowed from many artists, the most important source of inspiration in his early period was certainly Canaletto. However, the painters probably had never worked together. Guardi followed closely Canaletto’s drawings and engravings in his topographically accurate views of Venice, which were in demand among foreign collectors.

Later in the 1770s and 1780s, Guardi’s style becomes looser and freer. He also painted the figures according to contemporary fashion, which makes his paintings a valuable indication of the current trends in hairstyle and dress. The ladies in his works from that period wear high coiffures decorated with feathers and flowers inspired by French and English fashions. Guardi was more comfortable with small figures in architectural setting than with large-scale religious scenes in altarpieces.

Venetian patrons preferred Guardi’s imaginary views, called capricci, to the straightforward recreations of the architecture of the city. The motifs include creative ensembles of classical architecture, picturesque ruins, Gothic arches, harbours and obelisks. Guardi often repeated these details introducing slight variations. Identifiable architectural details from Venice, such as the Doge’s Palace, conflate in the capricci with fruits of Guardi’s imagination.

Francesco Guardi died in 1793 as a major figure on the artistic scene. His characteristic style and considerable output encouraged many forgeries, especially in the medium of drawing.

This drawing is a capriccio or an imaginary ensemble of architecture and figures. The free, sketchy style is characteristic of Guardi’s late period. A date after 1780 has been suggested by Shaw on the basis of the style and the lady’s headdress (Byam Shaw , p. 74, no. 60 and p. 55). A related painting has been found in the Thierry collection in Paris (Morassi 1973, no. 758). Guardi often used similar sets of figures in a number of drawings and paintings. The couple at the top of the stairs appear in a sheet of macchiette (Morassi 1975, no. 206). These were quick sketches of Venetian lively crowds made with daubs of colour. Figural groups developed in that way would populate Guardi’s vedute, or city views. The woman with a basket and child on the lower right is repeated in a drawing in the Correr Museum (Moraassi, Tutti I disegni, no. 217).

The sheet has a border around the edge in brown wash, similar to the one in Dyce 261 and other drawings by Guardi.

References:

Morassi, Antonio; Guardi : tutti i disegni di Antonio, Francesco e Giacomo Guardi, (Alfieri, Venezia 1975)

Morassi, Antonio; Guardi: Antonio e Francesco Guardi, (Alfieri, Venezia 1973)

DYCE.260