The Italian painter Francesco Guardi (1712-1793) is famous for his oil sketches of Venice and its lagoons, freely painted with open, highly visible brushstrokes and a sense of the sparkle of light.
His parish records in Venice show that Francesco Guardi was baptized on October 5, 1712. His father, Domenico, who died when Francesco was 4, went to seminary. Francesco and his older brother, Gian Antonio, worked in a small studio, fulfilling what orders they could get for nearly anything the customer wanted: mythological paintings, genre, flower pieces, battle scenes, altarpieces, and even, on rare occasions, frescoes. They did not hesitate to copy other artists' compositions, but what they borrowed they always turned into something more capricious, less stable, more fragmentary in the refraction of light.
Francesco did not emerge as an independent personality until 1760, when his brother died. Then, at 48, he got married, set up his own studio and devoted himself mainly to painting views of Venice. For the most part he worked in obscurity, ignored by his contemporaries. He wasn't even admitted to the Venice Academy until he was 72 years old.
Of all Guardi's paintings the most evocative are his capricci, perhaps less appreciated today than the Venetian views, but those landscapes born from his imagination remain, albeit suggested by the ruined buildings on the solitary islands of the Venetian lagoon. A sweet melancholy clings to these scenes. Maybe his.
Investment value ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ As for other Venetian painters of the period, after a peak recorded in 2004, the values are stable and without risk. It remains very important to always evaluate the quality of the painting.
How much is his work worth?
Some more recent awards.
Capriccio View of a Venetian Campo – Oil/canvas (31,4 x 27 cm)
Clearing price: €399.795 ($440.000) Price including charges: €497.926 ($548.000) Estimate: €181.725 – €272.587 ($200.000 – $300.000 ) Sotheby's, 29/01/2020New York, United States.
Vue de la place Saint-Marc avec la Basilique et le Campanile – Oil/Canvas (25,4 x 36,9 cm)
Hammer price: €55.000 Estimate: €50.000 – €70.000 Hôtel de Ventes de Monte-Carlo, 27/11/2019Monte Carlo, Monaco. Origin: Londres, galerie L. Koester 1962 n° 42 d'après Morassi: Londres collection E. Speelman; Collection privée.
The Continence of Scipio – Oil/canvas (166,8 x 207,6 cm)
Clearing price: €312.235 (£280.000) Price including charges: €387.227 (£347.250) Estimate: €78.058 – €111.512 (£70.000 – £100.000) Christie's , 04/07/2019London, United Kingdom.
Venice, a View of the Grand Canal with San Simeone Piccolo – Oil/canvas (65,3 x 79,5 cm)
Clearing price: €1.560.789 (£1.400.000) Price including charges: €1.889.669 (£1.695.000) Estimate: €1.114.849 – €1.672.273 (£1.000.000 – £1.500.000)Sotheby's, 03/07/2019London, United Kingdom
Signed “Franco./ Guardi” Notes: Property From a Royal CollectionOrigin: Private collection, Europe; Thence by descent for over a century until sold, ('The Property of a European Family')London, Christie's, 9 July 2015, lot 46; Acquired at the above sale by the present owner.
The Island of San Giorgio Maggiore, Venice, with the Punta della Giudecca – Oil/canvas (41,3 x 51,3 cm)
Clearing price: €1.215.301 ($1.500.000) Price including charges: €1.468.488 ($1.812.500) Estimate: €972.240 – €1.296.321 ($1.200.000 – $1.600.000 ) Christie's , 19/04/2018 New York, United States
Origin: Private collection, Switzerland. with Noortman, London, from whom acquired by the present owners.Exposure: Venice, Giorgio Cini Foundation, 1993, no. 42.
An architectural capriccio with a man collecting branches and figures from ruins – Oil/panel (17,7 x 11,5 cm)
Clearing price: €43.264 (£38.000) Price including charges: €54.080 (£47.500) Estimate: €45.541 – €68.311 (£40.000 – £60.000) Christie's , 08/12/2017London, United Kingdom
Origin: His sale, Christie's, London, 11-12 May 1911, lot 248.
A capriccio with figures prompting by ruins – Oil/panel (15 x 11,5 cm)
Clearing price: €33.516 (£30.000) Price including charges: €41.895 (£37.500) Estimate: €16.758 – €27.930 (£15.000 – £25.000) Christie's , 07/12/2018London, United Kingdom.
