La Vocatella: a Chapel built by a hermit near Corpo de Cava, in the neighbourhood of Salerno and Naples

This drawing, dated 1844, is based on a sheet executed in 1838 and now in the Graves Art Gallery, Sheffield. Both sheets employ some of Palmer's earlier technical methods, including dotting and dappling in the trees and careful layering of textures. However, the Graves sheet shows some difficulty in the rendering of perspective, which has been corrected here. Palmer travelled to Italy in the autumn of 1837 on an extended honeymoon, having married Hannah Linnell on 30 September. They travelled with his great friend George Richmond (1809-1896) and his family, and remained in Italy until 1839. The group travelled from London to Calais, spending a week in Paris before passing through Lausanne and the Simplon Pass to Lago Maggiore. They spent a few days in Milan, then on through Palma, Bologna and Florence to Rome, arriving in mid-November. They spent the winter there, and in May 1838, the Richmonds returned to Florence, while the Palmers travelled on to Naples (where they met Edward Lear and Thomas Uwins), Pompeii, and then by September reached Torre Annunziata, Salerno and Corpo di Cava, where they met John Frederick Lewis and the present drawing was made.
Palmer's art was strongly influenced by his time in Italy, taking in broader views, larger designs and vibrant colours than his earlier work. He returned to some of his sketches later, as with the present drawing, working them up into larger and more highly finished compositions.