Francesco GUARDI (Venice, 1712 – 1793) Venetian capriccios featuring classical architecture Pair of oil paintings on panel Venetian capriccio featuring classical architecture, oil on panel, a pair, by F. Guardi 6.88 x 9.84 in. 17.5 x 25 cm Provenance: Anonymous sale; Paris, Galerie Georges Petit, Me Lair-Dubreuil, 21 April 1921, lot 15; Maurice Roquigny Collection; His second sale, Paris, Hôtel Drouot, Maître Ader, 18 March 1932, nos. 27 and 28 (Acquired by Jacques Meyer); Anonymous sale; Versailles, Salon du Trianon-Palace, Maître Chapelle, 14 March 1962, nos. 46 and 46 bis; Private European collection These paired paintings are part of the artist’s ‘capricci’: skilfully composed views depicting imaginary architecture and populated by minor figures. These scenes are the setting for a dialogue between an echo of the grandeur of the past – signified by the ruined state of the monumental arches – and the activity of the fishermen and the few passers-by who populate their surroundings. One of our paired paintings can be compared to an oil on canvas by the artist featuring the same composition, now held at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam (fig. 1). We would like to thank Mr Charles Beddington for kindly confirming the authenticity of this work, based on digital photographs, in an email dated 1 June 2026. Francesco GUARDI (Venice, 1712 – 1793) 17.5 x 25 cm