The Ruins of Persepolis

The present lot relates to Pasini's compositional sketch of 1855 depicting Persepolis, (V. Boetti Cardoso, Pasini, Genova, 1991, p. 226, no. 82.1), and it bears particular relation to the oil painting, Veduta delle ruine di Persepoli, Antico Palazzo di Dario, 1858 (A. Baboni, et al., Alberto Pasini: Da Parma a Constantinopoli via Parigi, 1996, pp. 200, 241-242, no. 120). However, unlike the comparable painting, this picture is void of any large clusters of figures in the foreground, therefore emphasising the ruins of Persepolis, and aptly capturing their significance.