View of the town and harbour, Paxos, Greece

Details

Edward Lear (1812-1888)
View of the town and harbour, Paxos, Greece
inscribed in Greek (lower left) and further inscribed with colour notes
pencil, pen and brown ink and watercolour, heightened with touches of white
12½ x 20¾ in. (32 x 52.7 cm.)

Provenance

With The Fine Art Society, London, July 1992.

Special Notice

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Lot Essay

The date on the present drawing has been trimmed however it was executed on the 5 or 6 April 1863, and relates closely to plate 18 of Views in the Seven Ionian Islands. Lear made several drawings of the view and moved around slightly whilst he was doing them. He notes in his diary for the 5 April 'the harbour views of Paxo are remarkable for their quiet bright unity, & for a combination of light and shade which compensates for an absence of beauty in form - architecture & c. One of these harbour views I must select as most characteristic of the island.... Difficulty in making Paxo picturesque. It reminds one of a Cornwall or Devon Cove without its picturesque houses. Great quiet is its characteristic. Its formal new looking houses & rows of windows are hard to do. Civil follies.'

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