Although now best known for his nonsense poems, Lear was first and foremost an artist. He visited Parga, on the coast of Epirus in Greece, in May 1849. Parga had previously been under British rule. In 1819 the British administration handed over the town to the Ottoman general Ali Pasha, whose troops massacred some of the Greek inhabitants and drove others into exile. Lear was profoundly affected by the town’s tragic history and wrote ‘I wished with all my heart that I had left Parga unvisited’. The muted wash added to this delicate drawing suggests the poignant beauty of the ruined town.