Alessandro Guaccimanni, Italian-american Painter, Watercolor - Italy Venice 1896

Alessandro Guaccimanni (1864–1927) Italian / American Painter
View of the Venetian Lagoon (House on the Water)
Watercolor on paper, laid down on board.
Signed and dated lower left: “A. Guaccimanni – 1896”.
Framed and glazed.


A large-format watercolor depicting a solitary Venetian house on the water, likely situated in the lagoon or along a secondary canal. The composition centers on an elegant, ochre-and-white residence with tiled roofs rising directly from the water’s edge. Vegetation surrounds the building, and a wall extending to the left leads the eye to a rustic wooden landing where two fishermen are stowing their net beside a characteristically Venetian streetlamp. A few bricole (mooring posts) punctuate the water’s surface.

Measurements
• Sight (watercolor): 57 × 35 cm
• Frame: 62.5 × 40 cm

Guaccimanni handles watercolor with great finesse, employing light, atmospheric washes for sky and water to create a subtle mirror effect and vaporous reflections. The gentle palette—dominated by greys, beiges, and sea-greens—conjures a tranquil, timeless mood, bathed in the light of late afternoon or a misty morning.

Although he painted primarily in Italy, Guaccimanni also produced New York street scenes and exhibited at the National Academy of Design in 1892. He was known for his vedute of the city and lagoon, often capturing less touristy, more intimate aspects of the Venetian environment. Dated 1896, this work falls squarely within the period’s heightened taste for picturesque Venetian views and stands as a fine example of late 19th-century veduta painting, sought after by collectors of Italian views.

Provenance: Private French collection.

Condition: Very good overall condition commensurate with age. The watercolor appears to have been preserved under glass from the outset (bubble glass). Minor, professionally retouched losses to the frame’s gilding.

Auction Record:
Works by the artist have appeared at public auction on 20 occasions. The earliest listing recorded by Artprice is Rainy Streets, New York, offered in 1989 at Christie’s; the most recent is Sailboats, offered in 2024.

Bibliography:
• 2005: Lonnie Pierson Dunbier (ed.), The Artists Bluebook: 34,000 North American Artists to March 2005
• 2005: Ray Davenport, Davenport’s Art Reference: The Gold Edition
• 1999: Peter Hastings Falk (ed.), Who Was Who in American Art, 1564–1975
• 1982: Richard J. Koke, American Landscape/Genre Paintings in the New-York Historical Society
• 1973: Maria Naylor, Exhibition Record 1861–1900, National Academy of Design (Exhibition catalogue)

Museums & Institutions
• New-York Historical Society (New York, NY)
• The Athenaeum Gallery, Northern Virginia Fine Arts Association (NVFAA) (Alexandria, VA)
• These institutions hold or have exhibited works by artists cited in the references above.

Safe and secure shipping:
• France: 8€
• Europe (Schengen area): 18 €
• International: 98 €
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