Canaletto: Star of the auctions of Old Master Paintings at Christie’s and Sotheby’s

Giovanni Antonio CANAL will be the star attraction at both Christie’s and Sotheby’s on the 6 and 7 July 2005. Originating from the Champalimaud collection, Canaletto’s “The Bucintoro at the Molo on Ascension Day” should be one of the highlights of Christie’s London sale, with an estimate ranging from GBP 4-6 million. The auctions will also feature two other views of Venice by the same artist: Venice, “View of the Grand Canal from Palazzo Balbi to the Rialto Bridge” (GBP 6-8 million) and “Venice, View of the Grand Canal from Palazzo Flangini to S. Marcuola” (GBP 5-8 million).

Canaletto has already been the subject of a major sale this year. In January his “The Bacino di San Marco, looking east from the Mouth of the Giudecca” went under the hammer at USD 4.7 million at Christie’s in New York.The artist’s all-time record dates back to April 1992 when Christie’s of London sold his “The Old Horse Guards, London, from St. James’ Park” for GBP 9.2 million.

According to Artprice figures, Canaletto’s price index has progressed 8% since 1 January 2005. There is no shortage of Canaletto’s works on offer: some years more than 60 of his pieces change hands at auction. However, 81% of these are prints. Ahead of the London auctions of Old Masters in July, it will be interesting to see if the market can really absorb so many high-quality works over only two days.

Canaletto’s works are not only a big success at auctions; the Italian Senate is currently hosting a retrospective of his landscape works: 31 paintings and 33 drawings from private collections are exhibited at the Giustiniani Palace until 19 June 2005.