John Singer Sargent 1856-1925
“The water-colour depicts the profile of the front elevation of the Palazzo Corner Spinelli (Palazzo Lanndo-Corner Spinelli), which was designed by Mauro Codussi (1440-1504) probably in the 1480s. This early Renaissance palace is situated at the widest point of the Grand Canal directly opposite the Cà Capello, then home of the doyenne of Anglo-Venetian hostesses, Lady Layard. It was built for Pietro Lando (cousin of the Pietro Lando who was elected doge in 1539), passed to Zuane Corner in 1542 and to the Spinelli in 1740. “Sargent painted from a gondola positioned at an oblique angle to the building, looking down the Grand Canal toward the Accademia Bridge. The viewpoint is low, but the strong vertical emphasis of the mooring posts, one of which bisects the picture space, leads the eye upward to the rusticated façade of the tall lower storey and the distinctive contrapuntal biforate windows and trilobate (three-lobed) balconies of the storey above. The pastel palette—greys, blue, mauves, and pinks —describes the architecture in cool light conditions” (R. Ormond and E. Kilmurray, John Singer Sargent: Venetian Figures and Landscapes 1898- 1913, vol. VI, 2009, p. 90).
Provenance
The artist;
Mrs. Gertrude Birnbaum (later Burney, née Lewis), c. 1902;
Heirs of the above, 1955;
Christie's, New York, November 30, 2006, lot 17 (estimate: $200,000-300,000; sold for: $553,600 premium);
Private collection (acquired from the above sale)
Literature
R. Ormond and E. Kilmurray, John Singer Sargent: Venetian Figures and Landscapes 1898- 1913, vol. VI, New Haven, 2009, no. 1045, illustrated in color p. 90.