Obraz Bernarda Bellotto (Canaletta) przedstawiający ruiny Colosseum w Rzymie ok połowy XVIII wieku. Na Zamku Królewskim w Warszawie znajduje się 25 olejów tego malarza, wyrwane z bolszewickiego gardła po wygranej wojnie w 1920 roku. Wielu malarzy podejmowało oczywiście temat Colosseum, włączając w to polskich (np. Świeszewski: https://polishartcorner.com/2016/09/17/aleksander-swieszewski-1839-1895-6/), lecz pędzel Bellotta oddaje toczące się wokół życie a nie tylko martwotę architektury. To Colossem to dla mnie przedsmak późniejszych widoków Warszawy tego malarza, pełnych toczącego się wówczas życia za panowania Stanisława Augusta Poniatowskiego.

Lot 17. Bernardo Bellotto Venice 1722–1780 Warsaw. Rome, a view of the Colosseum and the Arch of Constantine, oil on canvas unframed: 61 x 98.1 cm.; 24 x 38⅝ in. framed: 86 x 123 cm.; 33⅞ x 48⅜ in. Condition Report: The following condition report is provided by Hamish Dewar who is an external specialist and not an employee of Sotheby’s: Structural condition: The canvas has been lined onto a keyed wooden stretcher with one horizontal and one vertical cross-baton. The turnover edges are covered with brown paper tape. The canvas is taut and even and the overall structural condition would appear to be very good and secure. The lining has secured the pattern of fine lines of drying craquelure which are entirely stable and are not visually distracting. Paint surface: The paint surface has an even varnish layer. Inspection under ultraviolet light shows extensive retouchings, particularly in the sky. There is a thick band of retouching running across the sky above the Colosseum, and extensive retouchings in the sky on the right of the composition. There are also retouchings throughout the landscape, architecture and foreground. There may be further retouchings that I could not identify under ultraviolet. Summary: The painting would therefore appear to be in stable condition and the extent of retouchings applied in the past should be noted. Provenance: Private collection, New England; R. Birkedal, Seekonk, Massachusetts; T. Gilbert Brouillette (1906–1970), Falmouth, Massachusetts; Alicia Corchenuk de Buenfil, Mexico City; With Steven Juvenis and Firestone & Parson, Massachusetts, by 1976; Anonymous sale (‘The Property of a Gentleman’), London, Sotheby’s, 4 July 1990, lot 19 (as Canaletto); Where acquired by a private collector; Anonymous sale (‘The Property of a European Collector’), London, Christie’s, 7 July 2004, lot 98 (as Bellotto); Private collection, by 2008. Estimate 200,000 – 300,000 GBP. Sotheby’s. 07/03/24. Sold 240,000 GBP