It's all Greek to me...
1st October 2024
A beautiful Greek scene by the distinguished Victorian artist and traveller Edward Lear (1812-1888) was offered at Lawrences on September 24th. The oil on canvas, 37 x 23cm, depicts Corfu from the village of Ascension (now called Analipsi) and it was painted in 1856-1857
Lear travelled to Corfu in December 1855. He stayed until 1863 and then returned in 1877. Having been swiftly enchanted by Corfu (`it really is a paradise..` he raved to his sister Ann), Lear found much to adore on the island. Early in the Summer of 1856, Lear determined this theme from above the village of Ascension looking across to the Citadel of Corfu and the distant but clearly defined mountains of Albania.
“Lear delighted in the pleasing blend of trees, the coastal landscape and the distant snow-capped mountains. He adored the rampant wildness of the olive groves,” explains Lawrences’ specialist, Richard Kay. “The subject is scrupulously realistic and yet imbued with a sense of poetic wonder: Lear was quickly enraptured by splendid panoramas such as this. He worked with an exacting and accomplished technique in thinned oil, with no detail proving to be too trivial to be deserving of his meticulous brushwork".
The painting was featured in Lawrences major Autumn Fine Art auction with an estimate of £25,000-35,000, and was highly sought after by collectors, ultimately achieving a final price of £34,000.
