Unknown Canaletto work could fetch £60k at auction
The rare artwork is going under the hammer at Mallams auction house in Abingdon later this month.
**Unknown Canaletto work could fetch £60k at auction**
The rare artwork is expected to sell for between £40,000 and £60,000.
A previously unidentified work by the celebrated Italian artist Canaletto is due to go under the hammer.
The rare piece, described as a capriccio, is estimated to make between £40,000 and £60,000 when Mallams auction house in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, sells it later this month.
Canaletto, whose real name was Giovanni Antonio Canal, was born in Venice in 1697 and later became a favourite among British art collectors.
Mallams said the work heading to auction was created by the 18th Century Venetian master using pen, brown ink and a light grey wash on paper.
Art historian John Rolfe described the Canaletto work, *Ruins of a Pavilion and an Arcade over the Water*, as a "masterpiece".
He said it showed "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."
The drawing matches a Canaletto painting that was last sold at Christie's in 1995.
Canaletto was part of the Venetian art school and was best known across Europe for his cityscapes of Venice and London.
But in his native country, his capriccios - fanciful imaginary scenes, often featuring classical ruins - were regarded more highly, Mallams said.
It said the previously unrecorded work - which goes under the hammer on 21 October - corresponded with a Canaletto painting last sold at Christie's in 1995.
The work is believed to have been acquired by the Georgian composer and musician Charles Burney, and has remained in the family ever since, the auction house said.
An inscription on the back of the work reads "a Present from Sig Canal d Canaletti", suggesting the artists once gave 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.