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Object Timeline

1938

  • We acquired this object.

1994

2007

2015

2024

  • You found it!

Drawing, Decorative Cartouche with a Lagoon Capricco

This is a Drawing. It was attributed to Francesco Guardi. It is dated ca. 1770 and we acquired it in 1938. Its medium is pen and black ink, brush and watercolor over black chalk on white laid paper. It is a part of the Drawings, Prints, and Graphic Design department.

This large drawing, lavishly heightened with watercolor, is rightly celebrated as one of Francesco's finest surviving decorative designs. The rococo cartouche, perhaps intended for an overdoor, contains a lagoon capriccio freely inspired by Canaletto's large etching La Torre di Marghera, as is a drawing by Francesco at Hamburg (Byam Shaw, p. 68). This somewhat dry addition to the right is possibly the work of a restorer, who has cleverly completed Guardi's design, which may have at some point been damaged in this area. In any case, the addition antedates the drawing's presence in the collection of the Earl of Warwick (1812-1893), since that collector's mark appears in the lower right corner.

This object was bequest of Erskine Hewitt. It is credited Bequest of Erskine Hewitt.

Its dimensions are

41.9 x 68.6cm (16 1/2 x 27 in.)

It has the following markings

Stamps: Lower right corner, George Guy, Fourth Earl of Warwick (Lugt 2600)

It is inscribed

Verso: illegible

Cite this object as

Drawing, Decorative Cartouche with a Lagoon Capricco; Attributed to Francesco Guardi (1712 – 1793); Italy; pen and black ink, brush and watercolor over black chalk on white laid paper; 41.9 x 68.6cm (16 1/2 x 27 in.); Bequest of Erskine Hewitt; 1938-57-242

This image is in the public domain (free of copyright restrictions). You can copy, modify, and distribute this work without contacting the Smithsonian. For more information, visit the Smithsonian’s Terms of Use page.

If you would like to cite this object in a Wikipedia article please use the following template:

<ref name=CH>{{cite web |url=https://collection.cooperhewitt.org/objects/18349409/ |title=Drawing, Decorative Cartouche with a Lagoon Capricco |author=Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |accessdate=25 April 2024 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution}}</ref>