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Francesco Guardi, 'A Caprice with Ruins on the Seashore', about 1775-80

About the work

Overview

This imaginary scene reflects an eighteenth-century fascination with ruins. In it, a once glorious but now ruined folly has been positioned on one of the islands in the Venetian lagoon. Two men dig energetically beside the classical arch, a scene repeated in other paintings by Guardi. He has used the crumbling ruins, emphasised by the trailing greenery and warm light, to evoke an emotional response in viewers, reminding us of the inevitable passage of time.

Guardi painted this in the late 1770s, when he was over 60 years old, and it displays all his ability to suggest form with only a few strokes of paint. The two closest figures are placed in a shaft of light, with the arch acting as a framing device that allows the distant architecture to recede.

Key facts

Details

Full title
A Caprice with Ruins on the Seashore
Artist dates
1712 - 1793
Date made
about 1775-80
Medium and support
oil on canvas
Dimensions
36.8 × 26.1 cm
Acquisition credit
Salting Bequest, 1910
Inventory number
NG2522
Location
Not on display
Collection
Main Collection
Previous owners

About this record

If you know more about this painting or have spotted an error, please contact us. Please note that exhibition histories are listed from 2009 onwards. Bibliographies may not be complete; more comprehensive information is available in the National Gallery Library.

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