About this artwork
Lear was deeply attached to the landscape of Corfu, in the Ionian Islands, which he called ‘the loveliest place in the world’. He travelled all over the island in search of picturesque views to sketch. Kandoni was an estate on the southern outskirts of Corfu town. This panoramic sketch was drawn on 28 April 1862, when Lear recorded that the weather was ‘perfectly enchanting’. Pale yellow and green washes suggest the golden spring light. His inscriptions note ‘Cushions of / wild artichokes or Acanthus/ Earth bank weedy / but the Asphodel flowers are nearly all gone’.
Updated before 2020
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artist:Edward Lear (1812 - 1888) English
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title:Kandoni, Corfu
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date created:1862
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materials:Pen and brown ink and watercolour over pencil
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measurements:32.38 x 52.07 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 5551.17
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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...