The Bay of Naples with Vesuvius in the Background
Christen Købke Danish
Not on view
Unlike many of his fellow Danish artists, Købke did not revel in travel, but at the urging of his family and friends, he left for Italy in August of 1838 for a brief trip. As a landscape and decorative painter, he was drawn not to the grand edifices of Rome but to the murals of Pompei, coastline of Naples, and island of Capri. The artist often made sketches for compositions that he completed on his return to Copenhagen; this detailed drawing, however, is a recording of a finished painting, now in the Toledo Art Museum.