Oil painting, 'View near Venice', Follower of Giacomo Guardi, 19th century

A Venetian town view with a row of white house and a campanile on the right hand-side, the seashore with figures walking and small boats as well as gondolas setting off from the docks under a wide blue sky.

Bequeathed by John Jones

Bequeathed by John Jones, 1882
Ref : Parkinson, Ronald, Catalogue of British Oil Paintings 1820-1860. Victoria & Albert Museum, HMSO, London, 1990. p.xix-xx

John Jones (1800-1882) was first in business as a tailor and army clothier in London 1825, and opened a branch in Dublin 1840. Often visited Ireland, travelled to Europe and particularly France. He retired in 1850, but retained an interest in his firm. Lived quietly at 95 Piccadilly from 1865 to his death in January 1882. After the Marquess of Hertford and his son Sir Richard Wallace, Jones was the principal collector in Britain of French 18th century fine and decorative arts. Jones bequeathed an important collection of French 18th century furniture and porcelain to the V&A, and among the British watercolours and oil paintings he bequeathed to the V&A are subjects which reflect his interest in France.

See also South Kensington Museum Art Handbooks. The Jones Collection. With Portrait and Woodcuts. Published for the Committee of Council on Education by Chapman and Hall, Limited, 11, Henrietta Street. 1884.
Chapter I. Mr. John Jones. pp.1-7.
Chapter II. No.95, Piccadilly. pp.8-44. This gives a room-by-room guide to the contents of John Jones' house at No.95, Piccadilly.
Chapter VI. ..... Pictures,... and other things, p.138, "The pictures which are included in the Jones bequest are, with scarcely a single exception, valuable and good; and many of them excellent works of the artists. Mr. Jones was well pleased if he could collect enough pictures to ornament the walls of his rooms, and which would do no discredit to the extraordinary furniture and other things with which his house was filled."

Historical significance: This painting was formerly attributed to Francesco Guardi (1893 Catalogue; G. A. Simonson, Francesco Guardi, 1904, p. 89; Basil Long, Cat. Jones Coll., 1923, p. 21), and subsequently (1973 Catalogue) to his son, Giacomo, due to its pale and bright colour scheme. Francesco favoured a warm, golden light and hues of vivid colours. The present work may be compared to Giacomo's View of San Michele island in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, which has a similar palette and broad brushstrokes.The attribution to Giacomo remains uncertain.

This painting depicts an unidentified town view near Venice, with gondolas in the foreground. The houses with their tall chimney pots are characteristic of Venetian architecture and the campanile in the mid-distance resembles that of San Michele, on an island between Venice and Murano. The gondola in the left foreground has a small cabin known in Venice as a felze to protect against wind and rain.

Giacomo Guardi (1764-1835) was the son of the famous Venetian view painter Francesco Guardi, under whom he trained. He perpetuated his father's style well into the 19th century.

A 'veduta' is a painted, drawn or engraved view 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. The 'veduta' eventually succumbed to the invention of photography.

Giacomo Guardi (1764-1835) was the son of the famous 'vedutista' Francesco Guardi under whom he trained. He continued his father's work and imitated his manner well into the 19th century.

This painting shows an unidentified town view near Venice in a light palette and broad brushwork, consistent with the style of Giacomo Guardi nonetheless this attribution remains doubtful.

588-1882