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Lot Essay
The present group of watercolours, which predominantly depict specific Italian archeological sites and classical ruins, would have been produced to supply the growing demand for Veduté (view paintings) by European travellers on the Grand Tour. The phrase 'Grand Tour', first coined by Richard Lassels in his An Italian Voyage of 1670, came into common usage in the 18th century to describe the educational tour of the major cities and heritage sites of France, Italy and Germany taken by young English aristocrats. The 'Tour' usually crossed the Channel at Dover and headed to Paris, before journeying across the Alps to Florence, Venice, Rome and possibly Naples. Return journeys frequently included stops in the German cities of Berlin, Dresden, Vienna and Amsterdam. This trip provided exposure to the structures and artefacts of antiquity and the Renaissance, as well as foreign terrains, sites of geological interest and the fashionable societies of Europe, a variety which is encapsulated in the present set of watercolours. The subjects include the Colisseum, the largest amphitheatre built during the Roman Empire (AD72); the Tomb of Cecilia Metella, erected circa 50 BC for Cecilia Metella; Villa Adriana, Tivoli, an exceptional complex of classical buildings constructed in 2nd century AD by the Roman Emperor Hadrian; and Vesuvius, a constant source of geological fascination and awe.