114. Anton Sminck Pitloo

Arnhem 1790 – 1837 Naples

Sunrise in a Landscape, c. 1811-1819

These pendants (cat. 114 and 115) representing a sunrise and a sunset in an Italian landscape demonstrate Pitloo’s wonderful sensitivity for fleeting effects of light and colour. The studies are signed, a rarity in the artist’s oeuvre. In both works, a strip of clear light blue indicates the sea on the horizon and trees immersed in shadows function as a repoussoir to create depth. The bright colours of the glowing skies are reflected in the clouds, which are painted in a particularly free, sketchy manner. In this study of sunrise, the building bathed in the soft pink light of dawn which appears in the distance has been tentatively identified as the Torre Astura, located a few kilometres south of Anzio.