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Catania and Mount Etna

Edward Lear British
1847
Not on view

Lear was an inveterate traveler who recorded much of the Mediterranean world in sketches. He inscribed this work with the date, June 16, 1847, on which he trekked to the volcano Etna, above the town of Catania on the Italian island of Sicily. The following evening, Lear concluded a description of the mountain’s challenging ascent with these words: "One is amply repaid by the extraordinary scene above—where you look on the whole island of Sicily just like a great pink map in the sky—with the sea round it so blue, & the dark purple triangular shade of the mountains over that part furthest from the sun which rose just before we got to the mouth of the crater."

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Catania and Mount Etna
  • Artist: Edward Lear (British, London 1812–1888 San Remo)
  • Date: 1847
  • Medium: Oil on board
  • Dimensions: 12 1/4 x 19 in. (31.1 x 48.3 cm)
  • Classification: Drawings
  • Credit Line: Rogers Fund, 1961
  • Object Number: 61.233
  • Curatorial Department: European Paintings

More Artwork

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View of Sciacca, Sicily, Edward Lear British, Pen and brown ink, over graphite
View of Sciacca, Sicily
Edward Lear
May 20, 1847
Pentedatelo, Calabria, Italy, Edward Lear British, Watercolor over graphite
Pentedatelo, Calabria, Italy
Edward Lear
1847 (?)
View of St. Peter's, Rome, Edward Lear British, Graphite
View of St. Peter's, Rome
Edward Lear
1843
The Scroobious Pip
Multiple artists/makers
1968
Eclectus Roratus Polychloros, Edward Lear British, Watercolor and gouache (bodycolor) over graphite or chalk
Eclectus Roratus Polychloros
Edward Lear
ca. 1830–32

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