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Signed ‘P. Forcella’ (lower right).
Sizes:
Frame: 48 × 56 cm | 18.9 × 22 in
Artwork: 32.5 × 40.5 cm | 12.8 × 15.9 in
Evening on a quiet Venetian rio: a Baroque church façade catches the last warm light, a red-tiled loggia overhangs the water, and boats and mooring posts throw long reflections across the dark canal. The small board is painted with a fluid, atmospheric touch, the architecture solid and the water alive.
Paolo Forcella, born in Naples in 1868, trained in the Neapolitan school and travelled to Egypt with his brother Nicola, one of the most admired Orientalists of his day; his own work ranges from Cairo street scenes to Italian views. This Venetian canal shows him at his most painterly, in the tradition of the Neapolitan vedutisti.
Signed ‘P. Forcella’ at the lower right.
Very good condition: the paint layer intact and stable, the impasto highlights undisturbed and no retouching; the wood panel flat and sound with a plain reverse; a light film of surface grime; minor rubbing to the gilding of the frame. Please contact us to request a detailed Condition Report.
Packed as size S (up to 60 × 50 cm) · 56 × 48 cm framed
Insurance is optional. It follows the final hammer price, so with insurance the total moves with the bidding. Indicative rates of our shipping partner MBE for packing and door-to-door transport; the final quote is confirmed after the sale. Import duties and taxes outside the EU are paid by the buyer.
We coordinate packing and shipping on your behalf, with insurance available if you’d like it — or you’re welcome to arrange your own. Please see our Shipping Information page for full details before completing your purchase.
This lot is catalogued under the artist’s name without qualification and is covered by our Five-Year Authenticity Guarantee under Section 4 of the Conditions of Sale. The guarantee concerns authorship; it does not extend to provenance, dating, condition or value, which are described to the best of our knowledge.
Buyers should review the catalogue carefully and raise any questions before bidding; additional information is not ordinarily provided after the auction.
Five years on authorship for works catalogued under the artist’s name without qualification (Section 4 of our Conditions of Sale); headings such as “Attributed to” or “Circle of” are sold as described.
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Bidding on this site, the buyer’s premium is 25%, Spanish IVA included. There is no VAT on the hammer price and no card fee.
| Starting price | Low estimate | High estimate | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hammer price | €600 | €800 | €1,000 |
| Buyer’s premium 25% (IVA included) | €150 | €200 | €250 |
| Total on auroraathena.com | €750 | €1,000 | €1,250 |
| Total through a bidding platform (30%) | €780 | €1,040 | €1,300 |
Through LiveAuctioneers, Invaluable, Drouot or Bidspirit the premium is 30%: the same hammer of €1,000 costs €1,300 there against €1,250 here. Shipping and insurance are quoted separately; the estimator below gives the figure for your country. Buyers outside the EU pay no Spanish tax on the lot; the destination’s import rules apply (United States: original paintings and drawings enter duty-free; United Kingdom: 5% import VAT on art). Card payments are accepted up to €10,000; larger amounts by bank transfer.
The estimate of €800–€1,000 is our opinion of the range this work should reach; the starting price of €600 is the lowest bid we accept. We have not published comparable results for this lot; ask us before the sale and we will send the results we based the estimate on.
Bidding on this site, the buyer’s premium is 25%, Spanish IVA included, and there is no VAT on the hammer price and no card fee: at the starting price of €600 the total is €750; at the low estimate of €800 the total is €1,000; at the high estimate of €1,000 the total is €1,250.
Through LiveAuctioneers, Invaluable, Drouot or Bidspirit the premium is 30%, so the same hammer of €1,000 costs €1,300 there. Shipping and insurance are quoted separately; the estimator on this page gives the figure for your country. Buyers outside the EU pay no Spanish tax on the lot; the destination’s import rules apply (United States: original paintings and drawings enter duty-free; United Kingdom: 5% import VAT on art). Card payments are accepted up to €10,000; larger amounts by bank transfer.
Yes. This lot is catalogued under the artist’s name without qualification, so it carries our Five-Year Authenticity Guarantee under Section 4 of the Conditions of Sale: if the authorship proves materially incorrect, you may return the work within five years for a refund of the purchase price. The guarantee concerns authorship; provenance, dating, condition and value are described to the best of our knowledge and are not guaranteed.
A condition report with ultraviolet photographs is prepared on request, normally within two working days; the condition summary on this page is examined in-house and is not a conservator’s report. Further photographs of any detail, the reverse or the frame are sent on request. The work can be examined in our Barcelona showroom by appointment before the sale, and you are welcome to send your own conservator or specialist.
You can leave a maximum bid before the sale (the sale is on Saturday, October 17th, 2026 (Auction ended)) or bid live in our online room. A maximum bid is executed by the auctioneer only as much as is needed to stay ahead of other bidders, in the sale’s increments, never above your maximum.
Where a reserve exists it never exceeds the low estimate; a lot without a reserve sells to the highest bid at or above the starting price of €600.
Paolo Forcella was born in Naples in 1868 and trained in the Neapolitan school at a time when Morelli, Dalbono and the painters of Posillipo had made the city one of the liveliest centres of Italian painting. With his brother Nicola Forcella, one of the most admired Orientalists of the period, he travelled to Egypt, and Cairo street scenes, mosques and minarets became an important part of his output.
Back in Italy he painted the subjects of the Neapolitan vedutisti — the bay, the coast and, above all, Venice, whose canals and church façades he rendered in a fluid, atmospheric manner.
Forcella’s Venetian views combine solid architecture with living water: evening light on a Baroque façade, boats and mooring posts throwing long reflections across a quiet rio. His Orientalist works, often on paper, are more finely detailed.
The date of his death is not recorded. His paintings appear at auction in Italy, France and the United States and are held in private collections.
Paolo Forcella (born Naples 1868), brother of the Orientalist Nicola Forcella, who painted Cairo streets and then the canals of Venice in the tradition of the Neapolitan vedutisti; his Venetian Canal with Boats is at auction with Aurora & Athena.
Highlights of the Aurora & Athena autumn sale on 17 October 2026: Bridget Tichenor, Nicholas Roerich, Konstantin Korovin, Gerard Sekoto, Jan Zrzavý, Pan Yuliang, a Miró lithograph and the painters of the École de Paris.
“The description and photos of the artwork were accurate, and I felt confident in my purchase from the beginning. The team was quick to answer my questions and kept me well informed throughout the process.”
“I had a really good experience after the sale — it was smooth, asked a question and got an answer right away. Their customer service is excellent and very fast. Definitely recommend them.”
