signed, dated and inscribed lower right: 'Castellamara d 12 July ’33 TF'
oil on paper laid down on board
12 ½ x 9 1/8 in. (318 x 231 mm)
Provenance
Hofjägermeister Thomas Fearnley (only son of the artist) 1841-1927; Shipowner Thomas Fearnley (grandson of the artist), 1880 –1961; By family descent, until 2006
Although a number of Fearnley’s outdoor paintings were executed with a rapid almost casual technique, many of his studies were more carefully planned. At first glance they do appear to have been quickly completed at one sitting, but close inspection of their balanced composition and attention to detail shows that the artist spent at least a day –and often more – in front of the subject. In a letter to Dahl written from Rome (2nd February 1835), Fearnley reported that he had: “painted a series of - mostly ‘finished’ – nature studies”.
