The Grand Canal above the Rialto (recto); A Priest Celebrating Mass and Saint Vincent Ferrer Preaching (verso)

The veduta on the recto is a painstakingly accurate view of the Venetian Grand Canal from the Fabbriche Nuove on the extreme left to the Palazzo Pesaro in the distance and including the campanile of San Cassiano left of center. Possibly preparatory for a painting (sold at Christie's, October 15, 1948), this large drawing is generally dated to the 1760s, when Francesco Guardi, previously a figure painter working under the direction of his elder brother Giovanni Antonio, began to make a specialty of Venetian views. Here and in other large drawings of the same period, Francesco emulates Canaletto, whose early ‘vedute’ were the point of departure for Guardi's career as a painter of the Venetian scene. The drawing, minus the awning in the right foreground, served as the model for a painting in a private collection (repr. in Morassi 1973, no. 563).

The two figures on the verso were presumably executed at the same time as the veduta on the verso of the sheet. Sir Denis Mahon was the first to recognize the saint at the right as the Dominican Vincent Ferrer with his usual attributes - a branch of lilies, angel wings, a flame and a trumpet above his head. This figure was repeated in a small painting that has been attributed to Francesco Guardi by Egidio Martini (sold at Christie’s, London, July 2, 1965, lot 118).