Artist Unknown - Ruins of the Theatre at Taormina

Artist Unknown, Second Quarter Nineteenth Century

Ruins of the Theatre at Taormina, Sicily

oil on board, partially arched top
unframed: 26 x 36.5 cm (10 1/4 x 14 3/8 in)
framed: 31 x 42 cm (12 1/4 x 16 1/2 in)

Provenance:
Previously with Adolf Anderberg’s Konsthandel, Malmö, Sweden.

Adolf Anderberg (1885–1968) was a prominent figure in the Swedish art world. He served as a professor of philosophy at Lund University and later as a program director at Radiotjänst in Malmö. In addition to his academic career, Anderberg authored several art history publications, including Skånska triumfkrucifix (1915), Carl Fredrik Hill (1928), and Anders Kallenberg (1928). He also operated as an art dealer, contributing significantly to the promotion and sale of fine art in Sweden.

Essay:
This charming plein air study captures the serene beauty of the ancient theatre ruins in Taormina, Sicily. Painted outdoors, en plein air, it exemplifies the 19th-century practice of working directly from nature to capture light and atmosphere with immediacy and authenticity. The painting portrays the picturesque ruins with an evocative view of Mount Etna in the background, bathed in natural light.

The prepared panel used for this work was manufactured by R. Davy at 83 Newman Street, London, but sold by Alphonse De Saint-Martin, Rue de Seine 6, Paris—a merchant of artists' materials established in 1826. This detail suggests that the painting was likely executed by a French artist during the second quarter of the 19th century.