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Lot Essay
This panoramic view of Naples was probably executed when Patch was working in Vernet’s studio in Rome, since it relates closely to a composition that the same artist painted for the Abbé de Canillac in circa 1748, along with a pair showing the south side of the city from Carmine (Paris, Musée du Louvre). Vernet’s original views were clearly popular, since a second pair, now in the collection of the Duke of Northumberland at Alnwick Castle, was used by the Abbé de Saint Non for the prints to be included in his Voyage pittoresque à Naples et en Sicile (1781-86). While following the broad outline of Vernet’s composition, Patch makes numerous alterations to the placement and attitude of the figures, the number and spacing of boats, and even the arrangement of laundry hanging outside the houses on the left. The overall atmosphere of the scene is different and shows that Patch, having assimilated the lessons of his teacher, was fast establishing his own artistic identity.
A note on the provenance: This painting was probably acquired by the collector and antiquarian Charles Townley (1737–1805), who made three Grand Tours to Italy: in 1767; between 1771 and 1774, staying mainly in Rome and Naples; and in 1777. He was a compulsive buyer and his vast collection, which was mainly displayed in his house in Park Street, soon became a major attraction in London. Zoffany painted a portrait of him in circa 1781 in the library surrounded by the artefacts that he had amassed, Charles Townley and his friends at 33 Park Street, Westminster (fig. 1; Burnley, Towneley Hall). In 1791, he was appointed a trustee of the British Museum, to which he later bequeathed his collection of marbles. Both Charles Townley and his brother died without issue, and Towneley Hall passed to his uncle, John Townley, grandfather of Colonel Charles Townley, whose collection of pictures, including this work by Patch, was dispersed on his death in these Rooms in 1877.
A note on the provenance: This painting was probably acquired by the collector and antiquarian Charles Townley (1737–1805), who made three Grand Tours to Italy: in 1767; between 1771 and 1774, staying mainly in Rome and Naples; and in 1777. He was a compulsive buyer and his vast collection, which was mainly displayed in his house in Park Street, soon became a major attraction in London. Zoffany painted a portrait of him in circa 1781 in the library surrounded by the artefacts that he had amassed, Charles Townley and his friends at 33 Park Street, Westminster (fig. 1; Burnley, Towneley Hall). In 1791, he was appointed a trustee of the British Museum, to which he later bequeathed his collection of marbles. Both Charles Townley and his brother died without issue, and Towneley Hall passed to his uncle, John Townley, grandfather of Colonel Charles Townley, whose collection of pictures, including this work by Patch, was dispersed on his death in these Rooms in 1877.