Landscape (Sele River near Paestum) 1840

Eugene Von Guerard (1811-1901)

Landscape (Sele River near Paestum) 1840

oil on canvas
14.5 x 18.5 cm

signed and dated lower left: Guérard. 1840.

Reference:

This gem of a painting by Eugene von Guérard depicts the Sele River near Paestum, an ancient Greek city on the Tyrrhenian coast of southern Italy. The artist visited the area with his father during the summer of 1835, creating several sketches which would inform the present work. While von Guérard’s other paintings of Paestum show its famous Greek ruins – now part of a UNESCO world heritage site – here he has chosen to focus on the city’s picturesque environs. The oxen in the foreground are believed to have been mistaken for African buffalo, hence the erroneous title on the verso of this work.

We thank Dr Ruth Pullin for her generous assistance in identifying the true subject of this painting.  

Catherine Baxendale B Phil (Hons), MA (Art Curatorship)

Estimate: $16000 - 25000

Result Hammer: $17000