Tivoli, looking towards the Villa d'Este, Italy

Edward Lear (1812-1888)
Tivoli, looking towards the Villa d'Este, Italy

Signed lower left: Tivoli Edward Lear del. 1841
Pencil heightened with white
24.3 by 34 cm., 9 ½ by 13 ¼ in.

Provenance:
With Spink and Son, London

Tivoli had attracted the attention of artists through the centuries and Lear was no
exception. Between his arrival in Rome in December 1837 and 1841 he visited the
town on numerous occasions, as witnessed by the known drawings and sketches of
different dates. There were places of great interest and spectacular views to be had
from the differing vantage points. Here Lear has chosen the open landscape looking
towards the famed Villa d'Este and its gardens. Lear had initially drawn the view in
1839, but significantly varied the foreground of the present drawing for the plate
in his Views in Rome and its environs, 1841, the first great project of his time in Italy,
comprising a sumptuous series of lithographs.
There are other slightly differing versions of this view by Lear. One, dated 1839, is in
the Morgan Library, New York and another was sold at Sotheby's on 3rd July 2013, lot
188 for £9,375.