Lot Essay
These are two finished watercolours resulting from Lear's residence in Rome from late 1837 to 1848, interrupted only by two visits to England in 1841 and 1845-6. He could of course have visited the Roman Campagna at any time, but two pencil drawings particularly close in feeling to the present watercolour are dated 30 December 1843. The Via Labicana, now the Via Casilina, starts at the Porta Maggiore and runs east south-east a little south of Palestrina.
Lear travelled in Sicily with John Proby, heir to Lord Carysfort, from 3 May until 19 July 1847. They left Palermo on 11 May and Lear executed at least two drawings, numbered 13 and 14, at Segesta on 13 May. The ruins of Segesta stand alone on a hill some 57 miles west of Palermo; mysteriously the Doric temple-like structure shows no traces of an interior cella. There is also a theatre at the site.
Lear travelled in Sicily with John Proby, heir to Lord Carysfort, from 3 May until 19 July 1847. They left Palermo on 11 May and Lear executed at least two drawings, numbered 13 and 14, at Segesta on 13 May. The ruins of Segesta stand alone on a hill some 57 miles west of Palermo; mysteriously the Doric temple-like structure shows no traces of an interior cella. There is also a theatre at the site.