Lear visited Sparta during a tour of the Peloponnese with his friend, Franklin Lushington in March 1849. He enjoyed his visit and made sketches of the vale of Sparta and the surrounding mountains, from which this watercolour was executed at a considerably later date. Lear began to use the monogram visible at the lower right only in 1858. This is probably one of the numerous small watercolours that Lear produced quickly in the studio for immediate sale. He referred to these works as ‘tyrants’, as he felt they were inferior in quality.