The Rafael Valls Sale
The Rafael Valls Sale
Lot Closed
April 8, 01:53 PM GMT
Estimate
4,000 - 6,000 GBP
Lot Details
Description
LUIGI MAYER
Rome 1755 - 1803 London
A VIEW OF TYNDAREUS FROM THE SOUTH, WITH FIGURES BY A SARCOPHAGUS AND FRAGMENTS OF SCULPTURE, THE RUINS OF A TEMPLE (FORMERLY IDENTIFIED AS THAT OF CASTOR AND POLLUX) BEYOND; AND A VIEW OF ONE OF THE GREAT CAVERNS OF TYNDAREUS, WITH FIGURES DESCENDING AND A MAN DRAWING
the former signed lower right: Luigi Mayer. pinxt; with inventory number lower left: XII.
the latter signed lower right: Luigi Mayer. pinxt; with inventory number lower left: X.
a pair, both oil on canvas
each unframed: 43.7 x 67.2 cm.; 17¼ x 26½ in.
each framed: 58 x 82 cm.; 22⅞ x 32¼ in.
(2)
To view shipping calculator, please click here
Commissioned from the artist by Sir Robert Ainslie (1730-1812);
His sale, London, Christie's, 10 March 1809, as part of lot 6, for 38 Guineas to Colonel Stuart;
Anonymous sale, Melbourne, Christie's, 27 April 1999, lot 198;
Anonymous sale, London, Christie's, 29 October 1999, lot 103.
This pair was commissioned by Sir Robert Ainslie (1730-1812) as part of a series of twelve paintings which record his travels in the Levant, his time in Constantinople, where he was Ambassador from 1775, and his return to England. They were the tenth and the last in the series (as the numbers in the lower left indicate). Tyndareus, or modern day Tindari, was part of the last Greek colonies in Sicily founded in 396 BC. by Dionysius I. Ainslie used his time in Constantinople to travel widely throughout the Mediterranean, researching antiquities, objects of natural history, and developing a lasting interest in illustrations of the East. The grand tourist taking notes seated on a stone in the large cavern in the latter painting is likely to be Ainslie himself.
