Castel Sant'Elmo from Chiaia, Naples

Alexandre Hyacinthe Dunouy

1813 · Oil on paper, laid down on canvas · European Paintings

Dunouy spent the years 1810–15 in Naples at the behest of its queen, Napoleon’s sister Caroline Murat. Royal patronage enhanced his reputation and it is probable that this modestly-sized painting was intended for sale to a well-to-do visitor to the city. An inscription on the back suggests that an early owner was a member of the Barre family of engravers, medalists, and sculptors, who belonged to the cultivated milieu of the Monnaie de Paris, the French government institution charged with the minting of coins and medals.

Artist

Alexandre Hyacinthe Dunouy

Date

1813

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