A painting by Bellotto could topple auction records

The Old Masters market is in rude health. And the next big event in the area comes in July, when Christie’s will auction a painting by Bernardo Bellotto at its next sale dedicated to the Renaissance masters.

This painting, which has remained in private hands for half a century, could set a new sales record for the Italian painter.

View of Verona with the Ponte delle Navi is attributed to Bernardo Bellotto as an early work, believed to have been completed between 1745 and 1747.

According to Christie’s, this painting helped establish the Italian artist’s reputation in landscape painting.

“Painted on an epic scale, View of Verona with the Ponte delle Navi marks a highpoint in the career of Bernardo Bellotto. It is a picture that defined his artistic vision and shaped the extraordinary pan-European success he enjoyed as a topographical view painter,” explained Henry Pettifer, head of Old Masters, Christie’s London.

After spending 50 years in the same private collection, View of Verona with the Ponte delle Navi will be auctioned on 8 July 8 during Christie’s “Old Masters” sale.

It could fetch between £12-18 million (about R237-R356 million) and could possibly set a new sales record for Bernardo Bellotto.

The painting’s price would eclipse the $12.7 million (about R178 million) achieved by Rome – The Forum with the Temple of Castor and Pollux in 2006 in the London rooms of François Pinault’s auction house.

The prestigious provenance of View of Verona with the Ponte delle Navi could also help to drive up the bidding. This painting by Bernardo Bellotto last appeared on the market in 1971.