Venice, the Return of the Bucintoro on Ascension Day
View at the holding institution
- Artist
- Giovanni Antonio Canal, called Canaletto
- Date
- c. 1731-1732
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- 86 x 138 cm
- Attribution
- acceptedAccepted as autograph Canaletto.
- Where it is now
- Private collection
The picture that reset the Canaletto record, and one of the few works of its kind with a first owner who can be named with confidence. Sir Robert Walpole, Britain's first prime minister, had it at 10 Downing Street, and it appears in a 1736 inventory of his collection alongside the Grand Canal view that previously held the artist's auction record.
At 86 by 138 centimetres it is larger than any major Canaletto to reach the open market in two decades, which is part of why it made what it made. The intervening ownership is only partly public: the painting sold in Paris in 1993 for a figure reported at 10.24 million dollars, and the Walpole association was established after that sale rather than before it, which is itself a lesson in what provenance research does to value.
Reported totals vary between roughly 43.8 and 43.9 million dollars because the sterling result was converted on different days. The sterling figure is the stable one.
Provenance
- by 1736 - 1745Sir Robert Walpole, 10 Downing Street, Londondocumented
Recorded in a 1736 inventory of the Walpole collection, together with the Grand Canal view that previously held the Canaletto auction record.123
- - 1993Unknownunknown
The chain between the Walpole collection and the 1993 Paris sale is not set out in public reporting.
- 1993 - 2025Private collectiondocumented
Sold at a Paris auction house in 1993 for a figure reported at USD 10.24 m. The Walpole provenance was identified subsequently.23
- 2025 - presentPrivate collectiondocumented
Bought at Christie's London on 1 July 2025.12
Prices realised
| Date | Sale | Result | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Paris auction house | USD 10.24 m reported | House not named in the reporting consulted. |
| 2025-07-01 | Christie's London | Artist auction record and record for a veduta. Dollar equivalents of 43.8 m and 43.9 m both circulated; the sterling figure is authoritative. |
Literature
- Recorded in the 1736 inventory of the collection of Sir Robert Walpole.
Sources
- 1The Art Newspaper, 'New world record for Canaletto as view of Venice sells for £31.9m'.
https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2025/07/01/canaletto-painting-of-venice-sells-for-record-%C2%A3319m - 2Artnet News, 'Why Did This Canaletto Sell for a Record-Smashing $43.9 Million?'
https://news.artnet.com/market/canaletto-record-analysis-2672627 - 3Artnet News, 'Historic Canaletto Masterpiece Shatters the Painter's Auction Record'.
https://news.artnet.com/market/canaletto-walpole-heads-to-christies-auction-2643675
Change log
2026-08-02 — Record created. Sterling result treated as authoritative; divergent dollar conversions noted rather than picked between.