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Lot Essay
Jonas Brooke, heir to the Mere Hall estate in Cheshire, set off on his Grand Tour in August 1783 from London accompanied by his tutor the Rev. John Parkinson. Once in Naples, in January 1784, he made his first acquisition, a set of six views of Naples and its surroundings by Xavier della Gatta which included the two present works recently executed by the artist. Just a few months later, on 19 July 1784, Brooke died of fever in Milan. The della Gattas, along with Brooke's other Grand Tour purchases, were shipped to England and remained in Mere Hall until the sale of the house's contents in 1994.
The two views show Naples from opposite vantage points. Only a few monuments can be seen in both scenes, the medieval fortress of Castel Sant' Elmo and the Certosa di San Martino on the hill, the Castel dell'Ovo jutting out to sea and between them, the dome of of the church of Santa Maria degli Angeli and the Palazzo Reale.
The two views show Naples from opposite vantage points. Only a few monuments can be seen in both scenes, the medieval fortress of Castel Sant' Elmo and the Certosa di San Martino on the hill, the Castel dell'Ovo jutting out to sea and between them, the dome of of the church of Santa Maria degli Angeli and the Palazzo Reale.