Lear was profoundly inspired by the landscape, flora and culture of Greece. Between 1855 and 1864, he lived intermittently on the island of Corfu. This small sketch is one of a number of drawings he made in June 1856 of Horoepiskopi, a village fourteen miles north of Corfu town. Lear wrote to his sister Ann that ‘the village is on a double rocky hill in the midst of a valley entirely full of splendid oranges and cypresses’. He noted that all the English referred to the village as ‘Hokus Pokus’ as they were unable to pronounce its name. The sheet is unfortunately much marked by foxing.