Giovanni Battista Lusieri

Purchased from the artist's heirs in 1824 by the 7th Earl of Elgin;
by descent to Lord Bruce (later the 11th Earl of Elgin),
his sale and others, London, Christie's, 6 July 1965, lot 109

All window mounted and laid down on card within modern giltwood frames. Generally in very good condtion with some minor foxing to certain sheets. There is an old crease to the upper right corner of the man standing, his cloak slung over his shoulder. Otherwise in good condition with the medium fresh and vibrant. Please note that it has not been possible to examine the edges of each sheet behind their mounts and as such the information provided is sight seen.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

About sixty independent figure studies by Lusieri have survived, and the majority are still in the Elgin Collection at Broomhall.  These and the ones in lot 98 were once part of the same group with a provenance from the artist's studio, bought by the 7th Earl of Elgin in 1824.  Twenty-one, including the present ones, were sold at auction in 1965 (see Provenance).  The majority of these studies are monochrome and only a few are executed with watercolour.  As pointed out by Aidan Weston-Lewis in his entry for the 'Figure Studies', in the recent Lusieri exhibition, most of them represent ordinary working men and women.¹   He rightly stresses the similarity in type and execution with '...the increasingly popular genre of serial representation of local and regional costumes and trades, as produced by such artists as Pietro Fabris, David Allan, Saverio della Gatta....'  This fashion lasted well into the nineteenth century.  Some of these studies, as pointed out by Weston-Lewis, were used in Lusieri's extraordinary watercolours.² 
Lusieri's incredible technique has always been admired for the effect of light and clarity of colouring it achieved, producing a precision unparalled by any of the other vedutisti. 

1.  Giovanni Battista Lusieri, exhib. cat., Edinburgh, National Gallery of Scotland, 2012, pp.122-125, reproduced
2.  Ibid., p. 122