The Garden of Palazzo Contarini dal Zaffo
Francesco Guardi·Late 1770s
Historical Context
The Palazzo Contarini dal Zaffo, a noble residence on the Grand Canal's northern bank near the Accademia, provided Guardi with a subject that combined the aristocratic garden tradition with his characteristic atmospheric treatment of Venetian space. Gardens were relatively rare subjects in the veduta tradition, which typically focused on canals, piazzas, and waterfront panoramas, and this late 1770s work shows Guardi expanding his repertoire beyond topographic convention. By this date, Francesco Guardi (1712–1793) had fully established himself as the leading veduta painter of Venice following Canaletto's death in 1768, catering to a clientele of Grand Tour aristocrats and foreign diplomats who wanted atmospheric views rather than the architectural precision of the previous generation. His late style, with its increasingly free and flickering brushwork, anticipated the sensibility that would lead critics to compare him to the Impressionists. The Art Institute of Chicago holds this as a characteristic example of his mature approach to Venetian private spaces.
Technical Analysis
Guardi's characteristically flickering brushwork creates an atmospheric, almost Impressionistic effect. The garden vegetation is rendered with quick, broken touches of green, while architectural details are suggested rather than precisely delineated.
Look Closer
- ◆Notice Guardi's characteristically flickering brushwork: vegetation is rendered with quick, broken touches of green that suggest leaves without precisely depicting them.
- ◆Look at how architectural details are suggested rather than precisely delineated — Guardi captures the essence of the Venetian palace garden through atmospheric brushwork.
- ◆Find the water surface of the Grand Canal visible beyond the garden: Guardi always situates his compositions within Venice's aquatic geography.
- ◆Observe how this late 1770s work reflects Venice's twilight: Guardi's atmospheric, melancholy quality captures the city's declining power with poetic sensitivity.
Provenance
One of series of four viewed in Venice and the Veneto, presumably painted for John Strange (died 1799), British resident in Venice between 1773 and 1788; sale of his collection, European Museum, London, May 27, 1799, no. 49 (bought in); sale of his collection, Christie’s, London, March 15, 1800, no. 99. Colonel Milligan of Caldwell Hall, Burton-on-Trent; Nottinghamshire; sold, Christie’s, London, March 13, 1883, no. 358 or 359, to Davies [this information given in Christie’s sale catalogue, December 8, 1989 under no. 114, Villa Loredan from the same series]; Charles Davies, London. Colnaghi’s, London [Ames 1963, p. 37 states that Rothermere acquired the series from Colnaghi]; Harold Sidney Harmsworth, first Vicount Rothermere (died 1940) [the series of four paintings was intact on the death of Lord Rothermere, but appears to have been sold separately and privately after his death, see Fahy 1973, p. 111]. Knoedler, New York [according to Knoedler label on the back with stock no. 423 [5 or 6] 2]. Alfred Frankfurter, New York [letter from Alfred Frankfurter to Mr. and Mrs. Ascoli dated July 16, 1947, copy in curatorial file]; Dr. and Mrs. Max Ascoli, New York, by 1947 [letter cited above]; given to the Marion and Max Ascoli Fund; given to the Art Institute, 1991.
