Oil painting, 'Venice: a Fair in the Piazza San Marco seen through an Archway at the South-West End', Follower of Francesco Guardi, 19th century

A fair in the Piazza San Marco in Venice, scattered with small figures, seen through an archway with the basilica and the campanile in the background under a wide blue sky.

Bequeathed by Constantine Alexander Ionides

Christie's, Sale 20 January 1883, lot 159; purchased for £4. 4s. 0d. by Constantine Alexander Ionides,valued at £100 in his inventory (private collection) 20 January 1883; bequeathed by C.A. Ionides, 1900.
The collection formed by Constantine Ionides includes works of a wide variety of schools, periods and artists. His collection includes Old Masters, 17th century works, contemporary British works and French 19th century works. Constantine formed friendships with artists of the day, especially Legros, who, having spent 17 years in Britain, became a naturalise British citizen. Constantine proved a stable and generous buyer of Legros work, while Legros, in turn, became an advisor in the matters of art to the attentive Constantine. Under the influence of Legros Constantine developed a keen interest in French 19th century paintings purchasing works by Delacroix, Degas, Millet and Rousseau.

Constantine's plans concerning his collection conformed to a more 'public-welfare' vein of thought than his father or brother. He decided to donate his collection to the Victoria & Albert Museum, instead of privately distributing it or disposing of it in a Sales room.

His will states:

'All my pictures both in oil and water colors and crayon or colored chalks (but subject as to my family portraits to the interest herein before given to my said Wife) and all my etchings drawings and engravings to the South Kensington Museum for the benefit of the nation to be kept there as one separate collection to be called "The Constantine Alexander Ionides Collection" and not distributed over the Museum or lent for exhibition. And I desire that the said Etchings Drawings and Engravings shall be framed and glazed by and at the expense of the authorities of the Museum so that Students there can easily see them.'

The collection bequeathed to the museum in 1901 comprises 1138 pictures, drawing and prints, to which a further 20 items were added on the death of his widow in 1920. The works are listed in the V&A catalogue of the Constantine Alexander Ionides collection.

Historical significance: There are two drawings of this view (W. G. Constable, Canaletto, 1962, nos. 527-28, also Canaletto, exhibition Toronto, 1964, no. 125) and an oil painting (Lord Wharton collection; Constable, Canaletto, no. 19) firmly attributed to Canaletto, which indicates that his was the original composition. One of the drawings (whereabouts unknown, formerly Henry Oppenheimer collection) was made in 1760 and it is probable that Guardi, who is known to have copied Canaletto's compositions in his early years, painted his version at about the same time (Frankfurt, Stadelsches Institut). Another version attributed to Guardi was in the collection of Frederick Prince of Prussia (sold Ball & Graupe, Berlin, 27-8 November 1931, lot 14, pl. 6).

CAI.101 is stylistically and in detail of composition closer to the Guardi than to the Canaletto version; the latter, for example, contains a hanging lamp in the foreground which does not appear in the Guardi composition. G. A. Simonson (1904 and 1914) accepted it as an autograph work by Guardi, though he felt that the two seated figures and the one in the foreground were added by another hand. G. Fiocco (1923) attributed it to Giacomo Guardi and placed it in the 19th century, an attribution supported by A.F. Spender, who interpreted the diametrically opposed shadows of the figures as characteristic of Giacomo's style. A. Morassi rejected both attributions, as did Kauffmann (1973 catalogue).

CAI.101 appears to be a work of the early 19th century, based largely on the Guardi version, though with a different disposition of the figures and omitting the relief decoration at the top of the arch. The standing figure in the foreground, looking outward at the spectator, does not occur in any of the other versions and would seem to be a 19th century invention. Although the broad, atmospheric sky recalls Guardi's typical emphasis on light, the thick brushstrokes are uncharacteristic of his work.

Guardi produced a number of works which utlise this compositional principle (e.g. Venetian Capriccio: View of a Square and a Palace, the Hermitage, St Petersburg, and Venetian Capriccio: View of the Ducal Palace, formerly Koetser collection, New York).

Francesco Guardi (1712-1793) was born in Venice and specialised in small views of the city. He was a collaborator of Canaletto and later ran a large independent studio. He trained both his younger brother Nicolò and his son Giacomo, who imitated his father's style. Guardi was much imitated during his lifetime and his compositions were much copied for more than a century after his death.

The Piazza San Marco was, and remains, the hub of Venetian social life. Temporary huts at the foot of the Campanile were used for performances of the Commedia dell'Arte.

A 'veduta' is a painted, drawn or engraved composition representing a landscape or a town, largely topographical in conception. These were particularly popular during the era of the Grand Tour. Such painters were known as 'vedutisti' and sometimes employed a 'camera obscura', a box with a small hole used as an optical device, to capture effects of scenery. Canaletto also visited England and painted views of London, creating a taste for view paintings, which influenced the next generation of English painters, including JMW Turner (1775-1851).The 'veduta' eventually succumbed to the invention of photography.

Francesco Guardi (1712-1793) was born in Venice and specialised in little views of the city. He was a collaborator of Canaletto when he was in his 40s and became later popular running a large studio of his own. He trained both his younger brother Nicolò and his son Giacomo, whose work is well known and who imitated his father's style.

This painting is a copy with variations of a composition respectively executed by both Canaletto and F. Guardi, which differ between them. The present work looks closer to Guardi's version. It shows a fair in the Piazza San Marco in Venice, scattered with small figures, and the whole view is seen through an archway with the basilica and the campanile in the background under a wide blue sky.

CAI.101