About this artwork
Lear toured Mount Athos in northern Greece in 1856, sketching the monasteries and landscape. In a letter to his sister Ann, Lear described the approach: ‘one crosses a ridge of hills, whence Mount Athos is discovered – a blue peak on a bluer sea – seen above the most wondrous forests of beech I ever beheld… the wildest and grandest forest scenery’. This view is taken from the forest at the centre of the peninsula, looking towards the peak of Athos. Lear has used broad washes to convey the golden light and the shadows of the woodland foreground.
Updated before 2020
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artist:Edward Lear (1812 - 1888) English
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title:Athos from near Niacoro (Neochorio)
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date created:1856
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materials:Pen and brown ink and watercolour over pencil
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measurements:23.49 x 31.75 cm
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object type:
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credit line:Accepted by H.M. Government in lieu of Inheritance Tax and allocated to the National Gallery of Scotland, 2003
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accession number:D 5551.10
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gallery:
Edward Lear
Edward Lear
Although now best known for his nonsense verse, Edward Lear was a superb draughtsman, a talented musician, an intrepid traveller and an outstanding landscape artist and travel writer. He was born in London and began to draw commercially at the age of sixteen. He developed a passion for travelling...
