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Edward Lear

Capo di Noli, from Capo Basteggi

Maker

Edward Lear (English, 1812-1888)

Title

Capo di Noli, from Capo Basteggi

Year

1864

Medium

  • Brush and watercolor and pen and ink on blue wove paper

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

  • Brush and watercolor and pen and ink on blue wove paper

Materials

pen and ink, watercolor

Supports

  • Blue wove paper

Dimensions

17 x 50.3 cm (6 11/16 x 19 13/16 inches)

Signature / Inscription / Marks

Inscribed in ink, LR corner:Capo di Noli from Capo Basteggi/11 A. M. 26 Decembr (br superscribed) - 1864

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Anonymous gift

Object Number

81.171.8

Type

  • Drawings and Watercolors

Publications

  • Books

How Pleasant to Know Mr. Lear: Watercolors by Edward Lear from Rhode Island Collections

  • Journal

Manual / Issue 10: Polychrome

Exhibition History

Pilgrims of Beauty
Art and Inspiration in 19th-Century Italy
Feb 03, 2012 – Jul 08, 2012

Label copy

Throughout a two-month walking tour from Nice to Genoa in late 1864, Edward Lear produced large sketches of the dramatic topography along the Northern Italian coast, including this view of Cape Noli. He inscribed each drawing with the precise date, time, and location at which it was made (here misspelling the name of the town Bergeggi as “Basteggi”). Based on detailed and poetic notes describing the colors of the light and landforms, he later added the lush blue and purple tones in watercolor. Lear first visited Italy in 1837, returning often and publishing illustrated accounts of these rambles and explorations. The immediacy of his sketches reveals the persistent pleasure he found in firsthand study of the countryside, and his vibrant colors lend an exotic tint to Italy’s natural beauty.

Image use

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Public Domain This object is in the Public Domain and available under a CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication

Tombstone

Edward Lear (English, 1812-1888)
Capo di Noli, from Capo Basteggi, 1864
Brush and watercolor and pen and ink on blue wove paper
17 x 50.3 cm (6 11/16 x 19 13/16 inches)
Anonymous gift 81.171.8

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