Edward Lear, Fomm Ir-Rih, Malta.
Pen and brown ink and watercolour; inscribed, lower right: Fommer Rih / 2 P.M / March 1 1866 / 79, further inscribed with colour notes, unframed. 153 by 253 mm.
Provenance
Sale, London, Bonham’s, 16 September 2009, lot 163;
bt. by the present owner.
According to Lear’s inscription, this plein air drawing was executed at 2 o’clock in the afternoon on 1st March 1866. Lear has depicted the dramatic and geologically diverse landscape of Fomm Ir-Rih, which is located on the west coast of Malta.
Having left England for Venice in September of 1865, Lear then travelled south to Malta. Renting lodgings situated three miles from the port of Valetta, he remained on the island for almost three months, before travelling on to Corfu, via Dalmatia and Montenegro.
A Blog of Bosh 