Offered by Stéphane Renard Fine Art
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Neapolitan gouaches appeared in the eighteenth century when tourism in the Naples area was developing: the discoveries of Herculaneum and Pompeii made this city a mandatory stop on the Grand Tour, the journey made by wealthy Europeans to complete their education.
Generally small in size for ease of transport and affordable in price, these gouaches were the ideal travel souvenir that these tourists of the early days were bringing back to capture the idyllic landscapes they had discovered during their journey and to share them with family and friends upon their return at home.
The Bay of Naples and the eruptions of Vesuvius are the favourite themes of these views. Here we have a view of the Ovo Castle, which was rebuilt on the island of Partenope, in the middle of the Bay of Naples and about a hundred metres from the shore by the Normans in the 12th century on antique ruins. Its name (Egg Castle in Italian) derives from a legend attributed to the poet Virgil: a sorcerer is said to have deposited a magic egg under the foundations of the castle which, if it disappeared, would lead to the ruin of the city.
The quayside, today’s Via Partenope, has always been lined with luxurious hotels, and one might think that this is one of the reasons why this view has been chosen as a souvenir for tourists. The execution of the painting, which is quite lively, the costumes of the characters at the water's edge, the romantic atmosphere on a full moon evening, clearly indicate that we are dealing with a gouache from the first half of the nineteenth century, a period which corresponds to the end of the production of these gouaches, which were soon to be supplanted by the development of photography.
We have chosen to frame this gouache in a French giltwood frame from the Restoration period, following the tradition that these travel souvenirs were framed by their owners after their return in a frame from their country, without any reference to the country where the gouache had been executed.
Delevery information :
The prices indicated are the prices for purchases at the gallery.
Depending on the price of the object, its size and the location of the buyer we are able to offer the best transport solution which will be invoiced separately and carried out under the buyer's responsibility.
