GIACINTO GIGANTE | Casarlano, near Sorrento

Hinge mounted along the upper edge to a modern mount. The sheet has very fractionally discoloured, however the watercolour remains fresh and vibrant throughout this atmospheric sheet.
"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."

This watercolour depicts a view near the forested mountain village of Casarlano, above the town of Sorrento, overlooking the Tyrrhenian Sea. Gigante spent much of 1848 and 1849 living and working in Sorrento, and the view from Casarlano and the woods surrounding it was one of which he seems to have been particularly fond, as it appears in a number of drawings and watercolours of this period. A larger variant of this composition, also dated 1850 but with different staffage, was on the art market in 2001 and is today in a private Neapolitan collection.¹ Another, smaller gouache of the same view by Gigante, again dated 1850, was in the Statella collection in Naples in 1930.² A watercolour showing a different view of the trees at Casarlano is in the Astarita collection at the Museo di Capodimonte in Naples.^{3 1.} New York and London, Colnaghi, Master Drawings, 2001, no. 44 (incorrectly identified as Pozzuoli from Capo Miseno, with Ischia in the Distance)
^2. S. Ortolani, Giacinto Gigante, Bergamo 1930, pl. 18
^3. L. Arbace et al, Napoli e la Campania Felix: Acquerelli di Giacinto Gigante, Naples 1983, p. 36, no. 52, pl. IX