Francesco Guardi Auction Prices and Value Guide

Francesco Guardi auction prices are tracked in Appraisily's artist market index, with source-directory coverage of 837 records. Use this page to review sold-lot activity, market context, and valuation factors before requesting a formal appraisal.

Francesco Guardi auction prices: quick answer

Francesco Guardi auction prices depend on medium, size, date, condition, provenance, edition details, attribution confidence, and recent comparable auction sales.

Artist
Francesco Guardi
Source records
837
Market update
2026-02-06

Artist context

About Francesco Guardi

Francesco Lazzaro Guardi (1712–1793) was an Italian painter and nobleman of the Venetian School, celebrated for atmospheric vedute (view paintings) and capricci that captured the fading grandeur of the Republic of Venice. Born into a family of painters—his brother Giovanni Antonio Guardi was an established artist, and his brother-in-law was the renowned Giovanni Battista Tiepolo—Francesco developed a looser, more improvisational style compared to the precise topographical approach of Canaletto. His work is characterized by shimmering light effects, lively figural groups, and a sense of immediacy that anticipated later Romantic sensibilities. Guardi's paintings of Venetian ceremonies, festivals, and architectural vistas document the city's public life in its final decades as an independent republic. His son Giacomo Guardi continued the family workshop. Today Guardi's works are held in major museum collections worldwide, and he is recognized as one of the last great practitioners of the classical Venetian painting tradition.

Venetian Schooloil on canvasdrawing (pen and ink, wash, gouache)vedute (view paintings of Venice)capricci (imaginary architectural landscapes)Venetian ceremonies and festivalsreligious and historical scenes

Common works and media

Guardi is most associated with oil-on-canvas vedute of Venice, including panoramic cityscapes, depictions of the Doge's Palace, the Bacino di San Marco, and the Grand Canal. He also painted capricci—imaginary architectural landscapes—and religious and historical scenes. His output ranges from large-format ceremonial paintings of Venetian state occasions to smaller-scale cabinet paintings. Drawings in pen and ink, wash, and gouache are known, along with prints and reproductive engravings after his compositions.

Market and appraisal context

Francesco Guardi maintains a deep and active international auction market spanning over 25 years, with 410 total lots recorded and 283 with realized prices. Auction activity has increased year-over-year (45 lots in the trailing 12 months versus 36 in the prior period), indicating sustained collector interest. The price distribution is extremely wide—from €125 at the low end to approximately $26.7 million at the top—reflecting the dramatic value difference between firmly attributed vedute and workshop/copy material. The interquartile range (€3,500–€111,650) captures the bulk of the market for attributed and workshop-era works. Top-tier prices are concentrated at Christie's and Sotheby's, where fully authenticated Venetian vedute and capricci command six- and seven-figure sums. Mid-tier European houses—Hampel Fine Art Auctions, Dorotheum, Koller Auctions, Wannenes Art Auctions, Deutsch Auktionen—regularly offer attributed, circle-of, and school-of works in the €900–€75,000 band. The market shows healthy liquidity across attribution tiers, but the single most important determinant of value is whether a work can be securely attributed to Francesco Guardi himself versus his workshop, his son Giacomo, or a later follower.

Auction categories and appraisal factors

Common auction categories

  • Old Master Paintings
  • oil on canvas
  • drawing (pen and ink, wash, gouache)
  • vedute (view paintings of Venice)
  • capricci (imaginary architectural landscapes)

Value drivers

  1. Attribution to Francesco Guardi versus workshop or son Giacomo Guardi
  2. Subject and specific view depicted (Venetian vedute command strongest demand)
  3. Canvas size and format
  4. Provenance and exhibition history
  5. Condition and conservation history
  6. Attribution tier: fully autograph works by Francesco Guardi command the highest prices; 'attributed to,' 'circle of,' 'school of,' and 'manner of' designations trade at substantial discounts

Appraisal caveats

  • Attribution within the Guardi family workshop can be complex; some works previously ascribed to Francesco have been reattributed to his brother Giovanni Antonio or his son Giacomo.
  • The RKD records a death date of 1792-01-01, while Wikidata and the Library of Congress authority file list 1793. The majority of scholarly sources favor January 1, 1793.
  • The wide price range ($125 to $26.7 million) reflects the full spectrum from later copies and school-of works to fully authenticated masterpieces; the median price of $27,140 is not representative of autograph Guardi paintings, which trade far higher.
  • A large share of recent lots are catalogued as 'attributed to,' 'circle of,' 'school of,' or 'in the manner of' Francesco Guardi, rather than as fully autograph works. Prices for these attribution tiers are dramatically lower.

Evidence

Sources for artist context

This source-grounded artist context passed Appraisily's promotion threshold: high confidence, strong sources.

Source-grounded artist Markdown

Data basis

This page is built from Appraisily's public auction market index. Private transactions, incomplete sale feeds, and attribution changes may not be fully represented.

LLM-readable Markdown summary for Francesco Guardi

LLM summary index · LLM full index

Artist value FAQ

How much is Francesco Guardi worth?

Comparable public auction sales are the best starting point, but final value depends on the specific artwork, condition, size, medium, provenance, and attribution confidence.

Can Appraisily value my Francesco Guardi artwork?

Yes. Appraisily can review photos, dimensions, signatures, condition, provenance, and comparable market data to prepare a current valuation.