Unknown Canaletto work could fetch £60k at Oxfordshire auction

A previously unknown work by the revered Italian artist Canaletto is set to go under the hammer.

The rare artwork, known as a capriccio, is estimated to fetch between £40,000 to £60,000 when it is sold by Mallams auction house in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, later this month.

Canaletto, whose real name was Giovanni Antonio Canal, was born in Venice in 1697 and went on to become a favourite of British art collectors.

Mallams said the artwork going under the hammer had been created by the 18th Century Venetian master with a pen, brown ink and a light grey wash on paper.

Art historian John Rolfe said the Canaletto work, Ruins of a Pavilion and an Arcade over the Water, was a "masterpiece".

He said it depicted "architectural splendours of the past in ruins" where "everyday life goes on amidst the shadows and sunlight".

"This drawing highlights a full range of the qualities that attracted contemporary collectors and inspired artists of future generations."

Canaletto was a member of the Venetian art school, and was best known across Europe for his cityscapes depicting Venice and London.

But in his home country, his capriccios - fanciful imaginary scenes, often showing classical ruins - were held in higher esteem, Mallams said.

It said the previously unrecorded work - which goes under the hammer on 21 October - corresponded with a Canaletto painting which was last sold at Christie's in 1995.

The work is thought to have been acquired by the Georgian composer and musician Charles Burney, and has been kept in the family since, the auction house said.

An inscription on the back of the work reads "a Present from Sig Canal d Canaletti", suggesting the artists had once given the work to someone as a gift.

Rupert Fogden, Mallams' director of fine art and pictures, said the auction house was "truly delighted to be entrusted" with the sale.

"Original paintings and drawings by Canaletto rarely come to auction, and we are expecting a significant amount of interest from both private collectors and institutions worldwide when it goes under the hammer this autumn," he added.

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