Gabriel Carelli

signed and dated Gab. Carelli 1845, bears inscription CASTELLA MARE/VILLA ACTON on the reverse

Lemmermann Collection, Rome
Hazlitt, Gooden & Fox, London

London, Hazlitt, Gooden & Fox, Interiors, November 6-December 11, 1981, no. 65

Mario Praz, An Illustrated History of Interior Decoration from Pompeii to Art Nouveau, London, 1982, p. 332, illustrated pl. 340

Pin dots of foxing throughout composition, overall colors are bright and fresh. Work is affixed to mat board with three paper hinges along top edge.
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One of a well-known family of Neopolitan artists, Gabriel Carelli exhibited in London and at the Royal Academy from 1866-1880.  The present work depicts a loggia, an Italian architectural feature on the façade of a building, supported by columns and open to the air.  As Carelli depicts, the loggia was an ideal sitting area to enjoy the view (Mount Vesuvius is visible in the distance) and fresh air, yet remain shaded from the sun. Adding to the cool retreat was the abundant use of green and lush vegetation as living decoration. In the present work, the indoors is brought outdoors with chairs covered with vine-and-leaf decorated upholstery and a table with books and albums available for browsing.  According to Mario Praz, while this watercolor is thought by some to represent the Villa Acton, later Rothschild, and finally Pignatelli Aragona-Cortes, neither the view from the loggia nor the architectural details match that structure (Praz, pp. 332-3).