Jenaro Pérez Villaamil

each division of arched form with reeded cluster column sides beneath a foliate cresting, on castor feet, each recto side with a gallery of tweny two oil on tin views by Genaro Perez Villaamil of Spain, together with shaped upper register (left side all signed Villaamil, damage to upper register, some bitumenisation, other damages; right side eighteen signed Villaamil and some Villaamil fec., one inscribed also Toledo, same condition as left hand side);  together with a group of approximately 40 additional panels by Villaamil

George William Villiers, 4th Earl of Clarendon (purchased during his ambassadorship in Madrid between 1833-1839. Clarendon was later British Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs between 1853-1858. He was a well-known lady's man, and had an affair with the mother of the Empress Eugénie of France. While in Madrid, his portrait was painted by Federico Madrazo y Kuntz (sold at Sotheby's, London, 9 December 2010, lot 254))
Thence by descent to the present owner

This condition report has been provided by Hamish Dewar Ltd. Fine Art Conservation, 14 Masons Yard, Duke Street, St James's, London SW1Y 6BU. UNCONDITIONAL AND WITHOUT PREJUDICE Left panel, background: There is a split in the paper running vertically through the centre of the church interior, and a further split towards the left framing edge. The paint surface has a film of surface dirt, and a discoloured and degraded varnish layer. There are some minor scattered paint losses. 1. The panel is structurally sound. The paint surface has a film of surface dirt, and a discoloured and degraded varnish layer. There are two tiny paint losses on the right hand framing edge. 2. The panel is structurally sound. The paint surface has a film of surface dirt, and a discoloured and degraded varnish layer. 3. The panel is structurally sound. The paint surface has a film of surface dirt, and a discoloured and degraded varnish layer. There is some slight paint separation in the centre of the composition. 4. The panel is structurally sound. The paint surface has a film of surface dirt, and a discoloured and degraded varnish layer. There are two paint losses, one within the water and one on the right hand framing edge. 5. The panel is structurally sound. The paint surface has a film of surface dirt, and a discoloured and degraded varnish layer. There is one small paint loss within the left hand fortification. There is some heavy paint separation in the lower right of the composition. 6. The panel is structurally sound. The paint surface has a film of surface dirt, and a discoloured and degraded varnish layer. There is some paint separation within the architecture in the centre of the composition. There is a minor scratch beneath the signature in the lower right of the composition. 7. The panel is structurally sound. The paint surface has a film of surface dirt, and a discoloured and degraded varnish layer. 8. The panel is structurally sound. The paint surface has a film of surface dirt, and a discoloured and degraded varnish layer. There is some degradation to the paint film within the left hand pillar. There is an ear-shaped scratch within the vaulted ceiling, revealing the metal ground. There are some paint losses along the lower edge. 9. The panel is structurally sound. The paint surface has a film of surface dirt, and a discoloured and degraded varnish layer. There is one paint loss in the lower right of the composition. There are some minor surface scratches in the sky in the upper right of the composition. 10. The panel is structurally sound. The paint surface has a film of surface dirt, and a discoloured and degraded varnish layer. There are two paint losses within the sky, revealing the metal ground. There is one minor paint loss and a minor scratch within the arch to the left of the composition. 11. The panel is structurally sound. The paint surface has a film of surface dirt, and a discoloured and degraded varnish layer. 12. The panel is structurally sound. The paint surface has a film of surface dirt, and a discoloured and degraded varnish layer. There is an abrasion to the right of the church tower. There is a paint loss within the sky in the upper right corner of the composition. 13. The panel is structurally sound. The paint surface has a film of surface dirt, and a discoloured and degraded varnish layer. There is a very minor scratch within the castle tower. 14. The panel is structurally sound. The paint surface has a film of surface dirt, and a discoloured and degraded varnish layer. 15. The panel is structurally sound. The paint surface has a film of surface dirt, and a discoloured and degraded varnish layer. There is some fairly extensive and visually distracting paint separation within the upper left quadrant of the composition. 16. The panel is structurally sound. The paint surface has a film of surface dirt, and a discoloured and degraded varnish layer. There are some small paint losses and some very minor craquelure within the vaulted ceiling. 17. The panel is structurally sound. The paint surface has a film of surface dirt, and a discoloured and degraded varnish layer. There is an area of thinness in the lower left of the composition, revealing the metal ground. There are two further paint losses in the centre of the composition. 18. The panel is structurally sound. The paint surface has a film of surface dirt, and a discoloured and degraded varnish layer. 19. The panel is structurally sound. The paint surface has a film of surface dirt, and a discoloured and degraded varnish layer. 20. The panel is structurally sound. The paint surface has a film of surface dirt, and a discoloured and degraded varnish layer. There is some minor craquelure within some of the dark pigments. 21. The panel is structurally sound. The paint surface has a film of surface dirt, and a discoloured and degraded varnish layer. There is some craquelure within the buildings and in the figures in the foreground of the composition. There is one paint loss in the upper right of the sky. Right panel, background: There are some areas running vertically down the panel where the paper is delaminating from its support. The paint surface has a film of surface dirt, and a discoloured and degraded varnish layer. There are some minor paint losses and surface deposits. 22. The panel is structurally sound. The paint surface has a film of surface dirt, and a discoloured and degraded varnish layer. There are some minor and some slightly larger paint losses within the buildings. 23. The panel is structurally sound. The paint surface has a film of surface dirt, and a discoloured and degraded varnish layer. There are two very minor paint losses within the sky, and two within the architecture in the centre of the composition. 24. The panel is structurally sound. The paint surface has a film of surface dirt, and a discoloured and degraded varnish layer. There is an area of paint loss on the lower framing edge, to the left of the signature. 25. The panel is structurally sound. The paint surface has a film of surface dirt, and a discoloured and degraded varnish layer. 26. The panel is structurally sound. The paint surface has a film of surface dirt, and a discoloured and degraded varnish layer. There is some degradation of the paint film along the upper framing edge, in some areas showing the metal ground. 27. The panel is structurally sound. The paint surface has a film of surface dirt, and a discoloured and degraded varnish layer. 28. The panel is structurally sound. The paint surface has a film of surface dirt, and a discoloured and degraded varnish layer. There is an L-shaped scratch to the right of the signature in the lower right of the composition. There is some degradation of the paint film in the upper right corner, and some within the darker pigments in the upper left and centre of the composition. 29. The panel is structurally sound. The paint surface has a film of surface dirt, and a discoloured and degraded varnish layer. There are some very minor paint losses. There is some minor craquelure above the signature in the lower right of the composition. 30. The panel is structurally sound. The paint surface has a film of surface dirt, and a discoloured and degraded varnish layer. There is an area of thinness in the upper right corner. There is a vertical scratch in the upper left corner and some other very minor surface scratches. 31. The panel is structurally sound. The paint surface has a film of surface dirt, and a discoloured and degraded varnish layer. There are some small paint losses in the upper left corner. There is some degradation to the paint film in the lower left of the composition. 32. The panel is structurally sound. The paint surface has a film of surface dirt, and a discoloured and degraded varnish layer. There is some thinness and degradation to the paint film in the lower right of the composition. There is also an area of thinness between the pillars on the right hand side of the composition. 33. The panel is structurally sound. The paint surface has a film of surface dirt, and a discoloured and degraded varnish layer. There is some deterioration to the paint layers in the lower left, in the lower right and in the upper right of the composition. 34. The panel is structurally sound. The paint surface has a film of surface dirt, and a discoloured and degraded varnish layer. There is some degradation to the paint layers in the dark pigments of the hanging ornament on the left of the composition, on the right hand figure in the foreground of the composition and in the upper right of the composition. There are some minor paint losses within the architecture. 35. The panel is structurally sound. The paint surface has a film of surface dirt, and a discoloured and degraded varnish layer. There is a horizontal scratch on the right side of the composition. There are some paint losses in the architecture on the left of the composition. 36. There is some deformation to the panel in the lower right. The paint surface has a film of surface dirt, and a discoloured and degraded varnish layer. There are some areas of paint loss in the upper left of the composition, in the roof of the church on the left of the composition and in the building on the right of the composition. There is a small vertical scratch in the lower left of the composition. 37. The panel is structurally sound. The paint surface has a film of surface dirt, and a discoloured and degraded varnish layer. There is some staining in the sky. There is some very minor craquelure within the background, close to the right hand framing edge. 38. The panel is structurally sound. The paint surface has a film of surface dirt, and a discoloured and degraded varnish layer. There is overall degradation to the paint layer. There are two paint losses in the lower left quadrant of the composition. There is a small scratch on the upper right framing edge. 39. The panel is structurally sound. The paint surface has a film of surface dirt, and a discoloured and degraded varnish layer. There are some abrasions in the lower right corner of the composition. There are some small paint losses in the impastoed areas of the arch on the left hand side of the composition. 40. The panel is structurally sound. The paint surface has a film of surface dirt, and a discoloured and degraded varnish layer. There is a paint loss in the sky in the upper centre of the composition. 41. The panel is structurally sound. The paint surface has a film of surface dirt, and a discoloured and degraded varnish layer. There is a paint loss within the spire. There are some surface deposits in the lower right of the composition. 42. The panel is structurally sound. The paint surface has a film of surface dirt, and a discoloured and degraded varnish layer. There is a large area of heavy paint separation in the lower right corner of the composition and also in the impastoed areas of the architecture. There is some surface staining throughout the composition.
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

Painted between 1833 and 1838, the forty-two Spanish views in the present lot comprise at least nineteen scenes of Toledo, and other identifiable views of Seville, Cordoba, Oviedo and Granada.

The following views have been identified:

1.      The Church on Feria Street, Seville
2.      Palos Gate, the Cathedral, Seville
3.      View of Toledo
5.      The Roman Bridge, Toledo
7.      The Entrance to the Chapel at the Casa de Pilatos, Seville
8.      View of the Choir of the Cathedral, Seville
9.      The Torre del Oro, Seville
10.    Main façade of the Cathedral, Seville
11.    Courtyard at the Alcazar, Seville
12.    Church of San Marcos, Seville
13.    The Castle at Almodóvar del Río, Cordoba
14.    The Courtyard at the Casa de Pilatos, Seville
15.    The Olive Oil Gate, Seville
16.    The Mosque, Cordoba
17.    The Castle at Alcalá de Guadaíra, Seville
18.     Façade of the Cathedral, Oviedo
19.     View of Toledo
20.     Arab windmills at Alcalá de Guadaíra, Seville
23.     The Puerta del Sol, Toledo
24.     The Walls of Toledo
27.     Ancha street, Toledo
28.     A Street with the Puerta del reloj, the Cathedral, Toledo
29.     The Lions Gate, the Cathedral, Toledo
30.     Entrance to the Chapel of the Tower, the Cathedral, Toledo
31.     Choir of the Cathedral, Toledo
32.     Interior of the Cathedral, Toledo
33.     The Choir of the Cathedral, Toledo
34.     The Main Chapel of the Cathedral, Toledo
35.     Gate of the Chapter Room of the Cathedral, Toledo
36.     Parish Church of Santo Tomé, Toledo
38.     Cloister of the Monastery of San Juan de Dios, Toledo
39.     Cloister of the Convent of San Juan de los Reyes, Toledo
40.     Fountain of San Martín, Toledo
41.     A Street, Toledo

The fluid brush work and golden light that Villaamil evokes in this extensive set of views reflects the influence of English Romantic painters on his style, in particular the landscapist and Royal Academician David Roberts, whom Villaamil met in Seville in 1833. By 1839 the works were on their way to London, as they appear in the inventory of the belongings of the Earl of Clarendon shipped back to England that year.  

Villaamil and Clarendon would very likely have been introduced to each other in the popular 'Thursday Salons' organised by the Liceo Artístico y Literario Español de Madrid. This institution, created in 1837, had its origins at the tertulias at the Parnasillo café in Madrid, meetings where the seed of Romanticism in Spanish art was sown. The heyday of the Liceo began in the following year when these social and cultural meetings moved to the palace of the Dukes of Villahermosa, attracting intellectuals, government officials, diplomats, artistocracy, and members of the Royal Family, including on occasion the Queen.

Villaamil was deeply involved in the Liceo, particularly its artistic side.
The Salon was financially supported by the Marquess of Salamanca and the Marquess of Remisa, the latter also providing financial support for the creation of Villaamil's celebrated album of engravings España Artística y Monumental which was published in several volumes between 1842 and 1850. Depicting different views of Spain, Villaamil worked on this project at the same time that he was painting the scenes depicted in the present lot. Particularly striking are the similarities of numbers 8, 9, 17, 29, 30, 31, 35, 36, 38 & 39) in the present lot to engravings in the album.