On 4 December 2013, Sotheby’s London will present two of the most important works by Canaletto to come to the market in recent times. Painted between 1738 and 1742, at the height of the artist’s career, these majestic canvases depict two of the most celebrated of Canaletto’s Venetian subjects: the Rialto Bridge over the Grand Canal and St. Mark’s Square. Coming from HSBC’s Corporate Art Collection, the two works will be offered as a pair in the Old Master Paintings Evening Sale, with an estimate of £8-12 million.
Alex Bell, Joint International Head and Co-Chairman of Sotheby’s Old Master Paintings Department, commented: “Canaletto was one of the rare artists of his time to have an international reputation. He was an unrivalled source of inspiration to his peers and his works were sought after by the greatest European collectors. Almost three centuries later, his universal appeal endures, and today his oeuvre is appreciated by an ever growing audience. Asian and Russian collectors, in particular, have shown strong interest in Italian view paintings in recent sales, and we will therefore be exhibiting these exceptional Canalettos not only in Europe and the US, but also in Moscow and Hong Kong.”
The works go on view in Hong Kong today and given the strong interest in Canaletto’s view paintings around the world, they will also be exhibited in Moscow, New York and London.
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