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THOMAS PATCH (1725-1782), AN ITALIAN SEAPORT, 1749
* Purchased at Christie’s, NYC *
A British expat who flourished in 18th century Florence, Thomas Patch's brushwork was prized for its treatment of dramatic lighting & intricate detail in foreground figures (in the tradition of his mentor Claude-Joseph Vernet), the latter skill reaching its zenith in his Canalettoesque views of the Arno, and in his famed caricatures of British luminaries who were part of his circle in Italy (Sir Horace Mann, Sir John Taylor, the Earl of Tylney &c.).
The present work is one of Patch's early 1740s genre paintings, just after the 24 year-old first arrived in Italy at Tivoli (1747), studying under Joshua Reynolds & Vernet (based in Rome).
A port at dusk lies astride a sweeping vista of tallships & sailboats, both homeward bound and abroad. One stunning pale marble tower, with continuous carved stone waterfront docks, is a hive of nautical activity: merchant lords in fine attire & tricorn hats watch over their trade, while workers load a cargo ship, and various tourists, local women, children, and their dogs mingle together. Fisherfolk work in harmony, man & woman, to haul in their catch, silvery in wicker baskets, with long-cast nets dragged to shore hoisted by waders hipdeep in seawater. Behind them, a waterfall which powers the smoky mill above, splashes down in a flourish of white foam. A meticulously rendered ancient Roman bridge with grand archways crowns the rocky slope and encloses the waterfall's course, atop which onlookers gaze down upon the harbor scene.
The composition so strongly resembles the craggy bays of the Ligurian coast at Portofino, San Fruttuoso, Cinque Terre, and the greater Italian Riviera, one must assume Patch & Vernet (the latter's love of the sea was renown) derived these scenes from nature (granted some serial embellishment, e.g. the irresistible Ponte Gregoriana falls at Tivoli). Despite general dismissal as romantic pastiches, a closer acquaintance with Italy's coastlines reveals the two men were capturing idyllic Italian fishing villages, where time had been standing still for centuries. The large full- rigged ship in the background is a period English design (same build as the 1784 H.M.S. Bounty), accounting for the British gentlemen (like Patch, himself) strolling about the scene's architecture, and fitting well the date signed on this painting (1749), all adding to its verisimilitude.
See the Royal Albert Museum's rendition by Patch of a similar view (Gift of Sir Harold Harmsworth, #37/1938/1) : https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/italian-port-scene-sunrise-95883/
A monumental hand-carved 22K giltwood frame with a shell & wave motif reflects the painting's nautical theme.
Canvas: approx. 52" x 39"
Framed: approx. 68" x 56"
Signed & dated, lower right, with the T over P monogram: 'TPatch 1749'
PROVENANCE:
Christie’s, Old Masters, 2021.
THE STORY:
This painting was one of an array of artworks (and historic wines!) we purchased at Christie’s & Sotheby’s in New York, London, Milan, Paris, and Beverly Hills (am I forgetting Hong Kong?) to the tune of a couple hundred thousand dollars during Covid lockdown (2020-2021).
Deprived of all other forms of enjoyment & freedom (we were stuck in the strictest state & strictest township in the entire USA), the joy of the finest auctions in the world was our only solace. In times of hurt, the beauty of fine art is one of the greatest salves to the soul.
Having spent over an estimated million dollars conserving, restoring, framing, and authenticating thousands of artworks from our family collection over the decades (many of them Old Masters), I will sometimes purchase stunning Old Masters in need of a classier hand in stewardship than the previous owners who saw fit to abandon them on the auction block.
What struck me about this stunning Thomas Patch harbor scene from the start (before bidding) was the INCREDIBLY INTACT ORIGINAL PAINT SURFACE!
Merely a yellowed old varnish to clean, and (I knew) this painting would become a miracle of transformation. As, indeed, it was! The paint layer is so pristine, a further authenticating pentimento emerged during cleaning! The inscribed date was corrected, also, from a clearer reading of the signature & Patch’s numbering.
This painting was one of those rare finds where EVERYTHING GOES RIGHT! =)
First, we had a FABULOUS conservation / cleaning (by one of the best in the world, who handles major museums) with the utmost delicacy & sophistication. Second, the framing exceeded all expectations, as we only ever accept hand-carved wood in the Renaissance tradition with water-gilding in 24K gold (even with gold leaf, the tripling cost of gold since the frame was made would vastly increase the price today), and the emergence of revelatory details from this collaborative process.
As such, there are only good memories on this beautiful painting, which when conserving artworks of this age, is quite rare. Purchased in the fine condition we have rendered it, you will own one of the finest examples of this period & genre of Patch’s work.
This painting is - as both the conservator and framer exclaimed, independently - A MUSEUM PIECE!
Over the years, these Italian harbor scenes by Patch (as distinct from his Florentine Arno views) capture $50,000-$100,000 at top auctions in London (and occasionally, New York), with our price set about in the middle to high range to reflect the quality & preservation of this particular rendition. We are, of course, always open to offers.
Make it YOURS today!
OUR UNIQUE PRICE TRANSPARENCY
We retain over $50,000 in purchase receipts & good stewardship receipts; including the one-time Christie’s auction day price, the price of the Canaletto-inspired handmade frame, the price of the * world expert * museum conservation, and costs of related safe-handling expenses. Be aware that a similar frame custom-made in New York in the present market would probably cost you $40,000 to $50,000 - an estimate I can attest to from personal experiences with one of America’s most prestigious framing company, Lowy (although this frame was NOT made by them, I did run estimates for a similar frame for this painting at the time, as client of theirs for nearly 20 years).
Whether at list price or an offer of yours we might accept, you will be getting an incredible deal on a major British old master pampered to its highest possible presentation level!!
* Purchased at Christie’s, NYC *
A British expat who flourished in 18th century Florence, Thomas Patch's brushwork was prized for its treatment of dramatic lighting & intricate detail in foreground figures (in the tradition of his mentor Claude-Joseph Vernet), the latter skill reaching its zenith in his Canalettoesque views of the Arno, and in his famed caricatures of British luminaries who were part of his circle in Italy (Sir Horace Mann, Sir John Taylor, the Earl of Tylney &c.).
The present work is one of Patch's early 1740s genre paintings, just after the 24 year-old first arrived in Italy at Tivoli (1747), studying under Joshua Reynolds & Vernet (based in Rome).
A port at dusk lies astride a sweeping vista of tallships & sailboats, both homeward bound and abroad. One stunning pale marble tower, with continuous carved stone waterfront docks, is a hive of nautical activity: merchant lords in fine attire & tricorn hats watch over their trade, while workers load a cargo ship, and various tourists, local women, children, and their dogs mingle together. Fisherfolk work in harmony, man & woman, to haul in their catch, silvery in wicker baskets, with long-cast nets dragged to shore hoisted by waders hipdeep in seawater. Behind them, a waterfall which powers the smoky mill above, splashes down in a flourish of white foam. A meticulously rendered ancient Roman bridge with grand archways crowns the rocky slope and encloses the waterfall's course, atop which onlookers gaze down upon the harbor scene.
The composition so strongly resembles the craggy bays of the Ligurian coast at Portofino, San Fruttuoso, Cinque Terre, and the greater Italian Riviera, one must assume Patch & Vernet (the latter's love of the sea was renown) derived these scenes from nature (granted some serial embellishment, e.g. the irresistible Ponte Gregoriana falls at Tivoli). Despite general dismissal as romantic pastiches, a closer acquaintance with Italy's coastlines reveals the two men were capturing idyllic Italian fishing villages, where time had been standing still for centuries. The large full- rigged ship in the background is a period English design (same build as the 1784 H.M.S. Bounty), accounting for the British gentlemen (like Patch, himself) strolling about the scene's architecture, and fitting well the date signed on this painting (1749), all adding to its verisimilitude.
See the Royal Albert Museum's rendition by Patch of a similar view (Gift of Sir Harold Harmsworth, #37/1938/1) : https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/italian-port-scene-sunrise-95883/
A monumental hand-carved 22K giltwood frame with a shell & wave motif reflects the painting's nautical theme.
Canvas: approx. 52" x 39"
Framed: approx. 68" x 56"
Signed & dated, lower right, with the T over P monogram: 'TPatch 1749'
PROVENANCE:
Christie’s, Old Masters, 2021.
THE STORY:
This painting was one of an array of artworks (and historic wines!) we purchased at Christie’s & Sotheby’s in New York, London, Milan, Paris, and Beverly Hills (am I forgetting Hong Kong?) to the tune of a couple hundred thousand dollars during Covid lockdown (2020-2021).
Deprived of all other forms of enjoyment & freedom (we were stuck in the strictest state & strictest township in the entire USA), the joy of the finest auctions in the world was our only solace. In times of hurt, the beauty of fine art is one of the greatest salves to the soul.
Having spent over an estimated million dollars conserving, restoring, framing, and authenticating thousands of artworks from our family collection over the decades (many of them Old Masters), I will sometimes purchase stunning Old Masters in need of a classier hand in stewardship than the previous owners who saw fit to abandon them on the auction block.
What struck me about this stunning Thomas Patch harbor scene from the start (before bidding) was the INCREDIBLY INTACT ORIGINAL PAINT SURFACE!
Merely a yellowed old varnish to clean, and (I knew) this painting would become a miracle of transformation. As, indeed, it was! The paint layer is so pristine, a further authenticating pentimento emerged during cleaning! The inscribed date was corrected, also, from a clearer reading of the signature & Patch’s numbering.
This painting was one of those rare finds where EVERYTHING GOES RIGHT! =)
First, we had a FABULOUS conservation / cleaning (by one of the best in the world, who handles major museums) with the utmost delicacy & sophistication. Second, the framing exceeded all expectations, as we only ever accept hand-carved wood in the Renaissance tradition with water-gilding in 24K gold (even with gold leaf, the tripling cost of gold since the frame was made would vastly increase the price today), and the emergence of revelatory details from this collaborative process.
As such, there are only good memories on this beautiful painting, which when conserving artworks of this age, is quite rare. Purchased in the fine condition we have rendered it, you will own one of the finest examples of this period & genre of Patch’s work.
This painting is - as both the conservator and framer exclaimed, independently - A MUSEUM PIECE!
Over the years, these Italian harbor scenes by Patch (as distinct from his Florentine Arno views) capture $50,000-$100,000 at top auctions in London (and occasionally, New York), with our price set about in the middle to high range to reflect the quality & preservation of this particular rendition. We are, of course, always open to offers.
Make it YOURS today!
OUR UNIQUE PRICE TRANSPARENCY
We retain over $50,000 in purchase receipts & good stewardship receipts; including the one-time Christie’s auction day price, the price of the Canaletto-inspired handmade frame, the price of the * world expert * museum conservation, and costs of related safe-handling expenses. Be aware that a similar frame custom-made in New York in the present market would probably cost you $40,000 to $50,000 - an estimate I can attest to from personal experiences with one of America’s most prestigious framing company, Lowy (although this frame was NOT made by them, I did run estimates for a similar frame for this painting at the time, as client of theirs for nearly 20 years).
Whether at list price or an offer of yours we might accept, you will be getting an incredible deal on a major British old master pampered to its highest possible presentation level!!