A tiny 19th century Venetian oil by Frederico del Campo (1837- 1923) went under the hammer for the first time in a century at Catherine Southon (18% buyer’s premium).
San Giorgio Maggiore, Venice, a 4 x 7½in (11 x 19cm) oil on canvas from 1885, had been in the same family since it was purchased, possibly from Christie’s, at the turn of the 20th century. The local vendor, who had inherited it from his grandfather, was unaware of its true value when he consigned it to the Bromley firm.
Depicting the Venetian island bathed in sunlight, its unusually small size suggests that it was most likely a sketch for one of the Peruvian painter’s much larger Venetian landscapes.