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Contact Exhibitor| Artist Name | Giovanni Battista LUSIERI (1754-1821) |
|---|---|
| Title | Views of Lago d'Averno and Paestum |
| Date of Artwork | c.1785 |
| Medium | Watercolor |
| Size | 23 1/2 x 31 1/2 in. • 597 x 800 mm |
Provenance
with Orlando Petreni, Florence, ?from whom acquired by;
Pauline Louise Harrison, (1918-2007), daughter of Francis Henry Du Pont, to 2008
Pauline Louise Harrison, (1918-2007), daughter of Francis Henry Du Pont, to 2008
Literature
- Weston-Lewis et al. Expanding Horizons, Giovanni Battista Lusieri and the panoramic landscape, Edinburgh, 2012, pp.140-143, nos. 5 and 53 (illustrated)
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Exhibition History
Edinburgh. National Gallery of Scotland, Expanding Horizons, Giovanni Battista Lusieri and the panoramic landscape, 2012, nos. 52</p
Further Information
Giovanni Battista LUSIERI
Rome 1754-1821 Athens
Lago d'Averno,
and
The Plain of Paestum
Watercolor over ink
23 1/2 x 31 1/2 inches
Provenance: with Orlando Petreni, Florence,
Pauline Louise Harrison, (1918-2007), daughter of Francis Henry Du Pont,
Exhbition: Edinburgh. National Gallery of Scotland, Expanding Horizons, Giovanni Battista Lusieri and the panoramic landscape, 2012, no. 52
These important watercolors by the celebrated vedute painter Giovanni Battista Lusieri were in the collection of Pauline Louise Harrison, daughter of Francis Henry Du Pont. They were exhibited in the major show of Lusieri's work at the National Gallery of Scotland in Edinburgh in 2012.
Lusieri worked almost exclusively in watercolor, painting Italian views in the vicinity of Rome and Naples, after 1781, for important patrons, many of them on the Grand Tour. In particular Sir William Hamilton, British Ambassador in Naples, whose wife Emma became the lover of Admiral Nelson, commissioned works from him. Lusieri worked on a grand scale, but with minute detail, with an enduring appeal to the eye. His panoramic landscapes are highly important both as evocations and as records of the cities and landscapes.
Lusieri is best known for the period of his employment by Lord Elgin in Greece. Sir William Hamilton recommended him as a draughtsman to Elgin when the latter was on his passage via Naples to take up the post of Ambassador to the Turkish Porte in 1799. Lusieri's contract with Elgin to act in the capacity of painter makes no mention of the highly important activities he was to undertake in Athens overseeing archaeological investigations and acquisitions of classical works for Elgin. This consumed so much time that his production of large scale watercolours appears to have been limited. Lusieri is remembered notably for his removal of the sculptures from the Parthenon, which were shipped to England and ultimately installed as the Elgin Marbles in the British Museum.
Lusieri continued employment with Elgin until 1819, despite never being paid the annual pension agreed, and died in financial difficulty 1821. The ship carrying the greater part of Luseri's production in Greece and a collection of classical sculpture for Elgin sank during a storm. Of his Greek subjects, only four survive: a watercolour of the Monument to Philopappos at Athens (Elgin Collection), the oil painting of the same subject and two further watercolours (National Gallery of Scotland).
Rome 1754-1821 Athens
Lago d'Averno,
and
The Plain of Paestum
Watercolor over ink
23 1/2 x 31 1/2 inches
Provenance: with Orlando Petreni, Florence,
Pauline Louise Harrison, (1918-2007), daughter of Francis Henry Du Pont,
Exhbition: Edinburgh. National Gallery of Scotland, Expanding Horizons, Giovanni Battista Lusieri and the panoramic landscape, 2012, no. 52
These important watercolors by the celebrated vedute painter Giovanni Battista Lusieri were in the collection of Pauline Louise Harrison, daughter of Francis Henry Du Pont. They were exhibited in the major show of Lusieri's work at the National Gallery of Scotland in Edinburgh in 2012.
Lusieri worked almost exclusively in watercolor, painting Italian views in the vicinity of Rome and Naples, after 1781, for important patrons, many of them on the Grand Tour. In particular Sir William Hamilton, British Ambassador in Naples, whose wife Emma became the lover of Admiral Nelson, commissioned works from him. Lusieri worked on a grand scale, but with minute detail, with an enduring appeal to the eye. His panoramic landscapes are highly important both as evocations and as records of the cities and landscapes.
Lusieri is best known for the period of his employment by Lord Elgin in Greece. Sir William Hamilton recommended him as a draughtsman to Elgin when the latter was on his passage via Naples to take up the post of Ambassador to the Turkish Porte in 1799. Lusieri's contract with Elgin to act in the capacity of painter makes no mention of the highly important activities he was to undertake in Athens overseeing archaeological investigations and acquisitions of classical works for Elgin. This consumed so much time that his production of large scale watercolours appears to have been limited. Lusieri is remembered notably for his removal of the sculptures from the Parthenon, which were shipped to England and ultimately installed as the Elgin Marbles in the British Museum.
Lusieri continued employment with Elgin until 1819, despite never being paid the annual pension agreed, and died in financial difficulty 1821. The ship carrying the greater part of Luseri's production in Greece and a collection of classical sculpture for Elgin sank during a storm. Of his Greek subjects, only four survive: a watercolour of the Monument to Philopappos at Athens (Elgin Collection), the oil painting of the same subject and two further watercolours (National Gallery of Scotland).