New Horse Guards from St James’s Park by Canaletto, a rare view of the London landmark under construction in 1753, will be sold by one of Europe’s largest auction houses, Dorotheum in Vienna, in a sale of Old Master Paintings on Wednesday 17 October 2012 when it is estimated to fetch €2-3 million. In the foreground of the painting is Horse Guards Parade where traditionally monarchs take the salute at the Trooping the Colour ceremony on their official birthday. This vast parade ground has recently become more familiar throughout the world for being the 2012 Olympic venue for beach volley ball.
The painting is an important historical record documenting 18th century London and, arguably, the most English of the paintings Canaletto executed during his time in England from 1746 to 1755. He had many English patrons including the Duke of Richmond and on his arrival his reputation was already widespread from the works acquired by English Grand Tourists in Venice. Art historians often claim that Canaletto saw England through Venetian eyes, however, this work has an essentially English feel with its diffused atmospheric light which anticipates the works of later English artists such as Turner.
Giovanni Antonio Canal, called il Canaletto (1697-1768), painted some 40 works during his English stay, many of which remain in the aristocratic collections for which they were originally commissioned while others are in the National Gallery, London, the National Maritime Museum and the collection of HM The Queen. This work, one of only three known paintings for which Canaletto used panel support, is closely related to the celebrated painting, The Old Horse Guards from St James’s Park, 1749, in The Andrew Lloyd Webber Art Foundation, and the drawing of The Old Horse Guards from St James’s Park in the British Museum. The latter shares details with this composition, especially the groups of figures in the foreground, and the beating of a carpet on the right.
In the painting coming up for auction, New Horse Guards, designed by William Kent then Chief Architect to George II, is shown in the course of construction, Old Horse Guards having been demolished in 1749-50. Canaletto depicts scaffolding around the clock tower and the south wing has still to be built, establishing the date of the painting between November 1752 and November 1753 when New Horse Guards was completed. From the left can be seen the Admiralty building with the spire of James Gibbs’ Saint Martin-in-the-Fields beyond, New Horse Guards and the Treasury, also designed by William Kent and partly concealed by the houses of Downing Street on the right. The houses in Downing Street were designed by Sir Christopher Wren and No. 10 became the official residence of the British Prime Minister and No. 11 that of the Chancellor of the Exchequer in 1735, as they still are today.
Much published and included in the 2006 exhibition Canaletto in England. A Venetian Artist Abroad, 1746-1755 at Dulwich Picture Gallery and then Yale Center for British Art, this impressive painting is not only a great work by the master Canaletto, but also an important historical record of one of Britain’s most-visited and recognisable landmarks.
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Notes to Editors
Dorotheum was founded in Vienna in 1707 by Emperor Joseph I, making it the oldest leading fine art auctioneer in the world and one of the largest. One of Vienna’s best-known institutions, Dorotheum can be said to embody a part of Austrian history. The magnificent palace, Palais Dorotheum, which eventually supplanted the old convent in the Dorotheergasse, was completed in 1901 and is an elegant setting for major international auctions. Dorotheum holds the record price for a work of art at auction in Austria set when Man choosing between Vice and Virtue by Frans Francken sold for €7.02 million in April 2010.
In 2001 the auction house was privatised and now holds some 600 sales a year including four major international auction weeks at Palais Dorotheum, focusing not only on Old Master and 19th century paintings but also modern and contemporary art and design. Some 100 experts handle works of art in over 40 categories including Art Nouveau, historical watches, coins and medals and vintage cars.
Dorotheum has a significant international presence with offices or representatives in 12 cities, from Brussels, Düsseldorf, Munich to Milan and Rome, as well as London where they are based in Green Park House, Stratton Street, London W1. The London Director, Damian Brenninkmeyer, is a specialist in Modern and Contemporary art.
Auction: Old Master Paintings, 17 October 2012
Viewing: From 6 October 2012
Online-catalogue: www.dorotheum.com
Venue: Palais Dorotheum, Dorotheergasse 17, 1010 Vienna, Austria
