Gaspard van WITTEL (Amersfoort, 1652 – Rome, 1736) - Lot 75

Lot n° 75
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Estimation :
80000 - 120000 EUR
Gaspard van WITTEL (Amersfoort, 1652 – Rome, 1736) - Lot 75
Gaspard van WITTEL (Amersfoort, 1652 – Rome, 1736) View of the Galley Dock Copper, 25.5 x 54.5 cm (RESTAURATIONS) Signed and dated lower right on a fountain: GASPARO VAN WITEL 1712 Born in Amersfoort, about forty kilometers from Utrecht—a predominantly Catholic city—Gaspard van Wittel traveled to Rome in 1674. He never left Italy again. His arrival in Naples is mentioned by Pascoli in 1699. He arrived there at the invitation of Viceroy Don Luis de la Cerda, Duke of Medinacelli. The viceroy had been appointed in 1695, but he had met van Wittel in Rome, where he had been stationed as the Spanish king’s ambassador to Pope Innocent XII. Van Wittel made numerous visits to the city of Partenope, and his favorite subject was the Darsena. The Darsena for the galleys was inaugurated on July 25, 1658, at the request of Viceroy Don Pedro of Aragon. It was a new basin measuring 95 x 120 meters, 5 meters deep, and with an 11-meter-wide entrance, intended to serve as a dock for all galleys and small sailing vessels. It was one of the subjects that most interested van Wittel, both for its topographical expanse and for the numerous picturesque scenes featuring people and boats. The first version dates from 1699 (canvas, 55 x 108 cm—private collection; see exhibition catalog *Gaspare Vanvitelli and the Origins of Vedutismo*, Rome and Venice, 2003, no. 66, reproduced). The final version is from 1722 (Holkham Hall, Earl of Leicester, dated 1722; see G. Briganti, *Gaspar van Wittel*, Milan, 1996, no. 359, reproduced). Between these two dates, van Wittel depicted the subject more than a dozen times on canvas and on cardboard. Another version on copper (45 x 98 cm), probably from 1701, is known to exist in a London collection; see (G. Briganti, op. cit. supra, no. 246, reproduced). The composition varies slightly depending on the version. The main features recognizable are the Tower of Saint Vincent, the quay of the Royal Palace with the Cassina Spagnola (or Palace of the Steward), the Royal Palace, and, on the right, the Castelnuovo. It is likely that van Wittel produced numerous drawings of this subject, which he used throughout his career. In 1712, the year of our painting, van Wittel was primarily in Rome, where he was involved in the festival of San Luca. With its beautiful luminosity and the array of picturesque details (the little monks near the sedan chair, the merchants near the boats on the left, and the unique Venetian ship on the left side of the composition), our painting ranks among the finest versions of this subject.
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