The Palace of Donn'Anna, Naples

Jules Coignet

1843 · Oil on paper, laid down on canvas · European Paintings

This is a classic view of the unfinished palace designed by Cosimo Fanzago for Anna Carafa, wife of a seventheenth-century Spanish viceroy of Naples. With Vesuvius smoldering in the distance, Castel del’Ovo jutting into the bay, and Neapolitan boatmen plying the water, all the elements of the Picturesque are present in this composition. As if to contravene the scene’s sense of timelessness, Coignet incised the location and date into the still-wet paint at lower left, emphasizing the speed with which he completed the painting.

Artist

Jules Coignet

Date

1843

Medium

Oil on paper, laid down on canvas

Department

European Paintings

Credit line

Thaw Collection, Jointly Owned by The Metropolitan Museum of Art and The Morgan Library & Museum, Gift of Eugene V. Thaw, 2009