John Singer Sargent 1856-1925
This is a view of the Campo dei Gesuiti in the northern area of the city, close to the Fondamenta Nuove. The square takes its name from the great church of the Gesuiti, rebuilt in the mid seventeenth century, with the addition of a baroque façade in the eighteenth century. It was just such a façade as the artist enjoyed painting, but he restrained himself on this occasion, painting a spacious view of the lower part of the square in preference to the façade, which lies out of sight behind us. We are looking south toward the well-head of the campo and the Ponte dei Gesuiti, which bridges the Rio di Santa Caterina. The building on the left is the former monastery of the Jesuits (the Gesuiti), now a military establishment, and on the right is the corner of the Oratorio dei Crociferi, founded in the thirteenth century for the returning Crusaders (subsequently rebuilt), and beyond it, set back, is the oddly designed Palazzo Zen of 1538. The houses flanking the bridge were owned by the Scuola dela Carità. The square is virtually the same as it was in Sargent's day, apart from the subsequent planting of three trees beside the Palazzo Zen. The square was at the centre of an area of artisans and occupied by a number of craft guilds. Sargent painted very few scenes of everyday Venetian life during his later visits to Venice. Here, a few spare, indistinct figures are crossing the bridge and traversing the square, going about their daily business. In the foreground are three summarily drawn but characterful silhouettes of men loitering in the cool shade of the tall building; the man on the left sports a top hat and the other two appear to be soldiers. The tone is subdued, the colouration restricted to subtle pinks, greys, and browns; architectural forms are indicated in slight, fluent strokes, and the figures are mere witty calligraphic notations in an enclosed space. This water-colour was one of six Venetian water-colours by Sargent belonging to Ferdinand Joseph Conway Wertheimer (1881-1953), who changed his name to Conway Joseph Conway during World War I. He was the son of the art dealer Asher Wertheimer, arguably Sargent's single greatest patron.
Provenance
Ferdinand Joseph Conway Wertheimer (later Conway J. Conway);
Mrs. Conway J. Conway (Joan Young), 1953 (widow of the above);
David Mathias (nephew of the above; gift from the above);
Private collection, 1992 (heirs of the above);
Adelson Galleries, New York, 1997;
Private collection, 2010 (acquired from the above);
Acquired by the present owner from the above in 2017
Exhibitions
London, Claridge Gallery, Loan Exhibition of Water Colours by the Late John S. Sargent, R.A. July 1925, no. 6 (as A Square, Venice).
Ferrara, Italy, Palazzo dei Diamanti, Sargent e l'Italia, September 22, 2002–January 6, 2003, no. 61, pp. 277, 304, illustrated in color p. 305.
California, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Sargent and Italy, February 9–May 11,2003, p. 195, illustrated in color p. 86 [Traveled: Colorado, Denver Art Museum, June 28–September 1, 2003].
New York, Adelson Galleries, New York, Sargent’s Venice, January 15–March 3, 2007 [Traveled: Venice, Italy, Museo Correr, March 24–July 22, 2007].
Basel, Switzerland, Fondation Beyeler, Venice - From Canaletto and Turner to Monet, September 28, 2008 – January 25, 2009.
New York, Michael Altman Fine Art & Advisory Services, John Singer Sargent, October 24–December 6, 2013, no. 17.
Literature
Exhibition Catalogue: Ferrara, Italy, Palazzo dei Diamanti, Sargent e l'Italia, 2002 no. 61, pp. 277, 304, illustrated in color p. 305.
Exhibition Catalogue: California, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Sargent and Italy, 2003, p. 195, illustrated in color.
W. Adelson and E. Oustinoff, "John Singer Sargent's Venice: On the Canals," The Magazine Antiques, vol. 170, no. 5, November 2006, fig. 4, pp. 138-39, illustrated in color p. 139.
Exhibition Catalogue: New York, Adelson Galleries, Sargent’s Venice, 2006, fig. 118, illustrated in color p.121 [Italian alt. publication: Sargent and Venice, Milan, 2007, p. 88, illustrated in color, p. 85].
R. Ormond and E. Kilmurray, John Singer Sargent: Venetian Figures and Landscapes, 1898- 1913; Complete Paintings, vol. VI, New Haven, 2009, no. 1028, pp. 232, 73, illustrated in color.
Exhibition Catalogue: New York, Michael Altman Fine Art & Advisory Services, John Singer Sargent, 2013, no. 17, illustrated.