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Mount Etna & Catania, Sicily

Courtesy of a private collector | All Rights Reserved

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Date

1 June 1850

Artist

Robert Elwes (1819-1878)

Collection

Private Collection

Description

"We left Malta for Naples touching at the Sicilian ports. We anchored off the beautiful city of Catania. From the sea-shore Catania makes a splendid picture. Backed by Etna, with a third of its cone now clothed in fresh snow, the city surrounded by gardens and gleaming with domes and towers, stood proudly out against the dark shade of the huge mountain".
This is a page from a unique leather-bound volume of Robert Elwes’ travelogue 'A Sketcher's Tour Round the World', first published 1854, (see page 402 for corresponding passage).
The book contains the printed text of the manuscript but remarkably, the monochrome wash illustrations are hand painted by Elwes. The book bears a handwritten inscription ‘Mary F Elwes from her affect. husband Robert Elwes Jan 25 1878’, dated after Robert Elwes became ill at Congham, his Norfolk home. On 28th January 1878 , their youngest daughter Violet noted in her diary: “Papa much worse”. Less than three months later, Robert Elwes died on 17th April aged 58.

Image Licence

All Rights Reserved

Image Credit

Courtesy of a private collector

Location

Mount Etna, Sicily, Italy

Country

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Buildings
Seascapes
Mountains

Category

Landscapes & Seascapes

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© 2024 Watercolour World | Technology by The Museum Platform

© 2024 Watercolour World | Technology by The Museum Platform