William Leighton Leitch

Palermo Cathedral

Details
William Leighton Leitch
Palermo Cathedral
with insicription 'Duomo di Palermo'
pencil, blue and brown wash heightened with white
10¼ x 14½in. (26 x 37cm.)
Provenance
William Leighton Leitch, his studio stamp
Christie's London, 13-17 Mar. 1884, lot 64 (315 gns. to Knowles).
R. Brocklebank.
Sir Edmund Brocklebank and thence by descent.

Lot Essay

There is no record of Roberts visiting Palermo in Sicily, though on his second visit to Italy, in 1853-4, he did get as far south as Naples, Salerno and Paestum; there is a watercolour of the last named, dated 25 February 1854. Nevertheless it looks as if the watercolour, if not done on the spot, was based on personal observation.
The construction of the Cathedral of Palermo was begun in 1185 and is in Sicilo-Norman style; the facade dates from the 14th and 15th Centuries and the dome, by Fuga, from 1801.
We are grateful to Helen Guiterman for her help in preparing this catalogue entry.

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