Richard Parkes Bonington

Possibly Lewis Brown (d. 1836),

possibly his executor’s sale, Paris, Pierret Auctioneers, 17-18 April 1837, lot 67;

Charles Frederick Huth (1806-1895),

his executor’s sale, London, Christie’s, 9 July 1895, lot 345 (as by Thomas Shotter Boys), bt. Vokins,

with J. & W. Vokins, London;

sale, London, Sotheby’s, 10 April 1997, lot 130,

where acquired by the present owner 

P. Noon, Richard Parkes Bonington, The Complete Paintings, New Haven 2008, no. 243;

P. Noon, Bonington, Le Virtuous Romantique, Paris 2023, fig. 358

Last seen in public in 1997, this outstanding watercolour sees Bonington in Venice, a city that he only visited once in his short life, but whose extraordinary architecture, geography and light was to inspire him to produce some of his most memorable and iconic works.

Positioning himself in the heart of the Grand Canal, Bonington looks east, past the merchant’s barges, their cargo draped in tarpaulins, their decks a hive of activity, past the gondolas, some on the move propelled by strong oarsmen, others moored up, unused, bobbing up and down gently in the current. His eye travels down ‘the most beautiful street in the world’¹, all the while taking in its famous palazzi which he brings to life through an astonishing array of painterly techniques; on the one hand laying in a myriad of colours with highly diluted watercolour washes, while on the other, capturing what interested him of the buildings’ intricate architectural details through a brilliant and bold application of much more concentrated pigment. In the far distance the Rialto Bridge shimmers, almost as a mirage, while to the right, the bell-tower of the church of San Bartolomeo di Rialto punches up into a stupendous sky, which is filled with swirling clouds, light and atmosphere.

Bonington had travelled to Italy with his friend and patron Baron Charles Rivet (1800-1872) in 1826. The pair, both very young and full of expectation, left Paris on the 4^th of April and they were not to return for eleven weeks. They travelled south to Switzerland, then crossed the Alps via Sion and Brig. Following visits to Milan, Brescia and Verona they arrived in Venice on the 20^th of April. Up until this point, the weather had been grey and wet and although these climatic conditions continued for a time, they steadily improved throughout their three week stay. According to Rivet, Bonington was entranced by the city and writing home on the 3^rd of May, the baron reported that: ‘as for [Bonington], he is still as fiery in his enthusiasm as he was the first day: he sees only palaces, columns, marbles and bricks, and I believe he dreams of them at night...I sometimes speak to him of departing, and he lets out a wail…’²

Rivet did eventually manage to pursuade his friend to move on, and they travelled through Padua and Ferrara together before parting company shortly after leaving Florence. Bonington then journeyed on alone, visiting Rome, Lerici, Genoa and Turin. By the end of June he was back in Paris, laden with drawings to which he could refer in his studio.

Patrick Noon has confirmed that, in his view, the present work was painted after Bonington’s return to Paris and that an on-the-spot pencil drawing (now at Bowood House, Wiltshire) is likely to have been used as his starting point.³ On account of Bonington’s exceptionally powerful treatment of the sky – with its abundance of opaque bodycolour – Noon dates the present watercolour to circa 1828; tragically the last year of this brilliant artist’s life.

^1.An observation made by Charles VIII of France’s ambassador to Venice in 1495.

^2.Baron Charles Rivet, Ms letter, 3 May 1826.

^3.That drawing was acquired by the 3^rd Marquess of Lansdowne at Bonington’s posthumous studio sale in 1829.