Giovanni MIGLIARA (Alessandria, 1785 – Milan, 1837) - Lot 549

Giovanni MIGLIARA (Alessandria, 1785 – Milan, 1837) Views of VENICE (TERRA FERMA) featuring a scene of everyday life, circa 1815. Pen in brown ink, wash in brown and gray inks, watercolor in green, blue, and sienna, partially gridded in pencil. Various annotations on the reverse, an unidentified stamp, and that of L. Pollak in the upper left. Height: 21.8 cm Length: 42 cm Provenance: - Rome, Ludwig Pollak (1869–1943), his stamp on the reverse: L. 788b; - London, private collection, Christie’s auction 1989; - France, private collection. Notes: As early as 1809, Giovanni Migliara had abandoned his career as a set designer at La Scala in Milan to devote himself exclusively to depicting vedute in watercolor and, more rarely, on canvas. For a quarter of a century, he drew imaginary views of the lagoon, but above all vedute that showcased his experiments with 360° perspective, as this large, previously unpublished sheet attests. In the foreground, a comical scene with a folksy flair brings this view of the Veneto region, dating from the very early 19th century, to life.