J.M.W. Turner RA, "Modern Rome: Campo Vaccino". Oil on canvas, estimate: £12-18 million, (90.2 by 122 cm), 35.5 by 48 inches. Photo: Sotheby's.

LONDON.- Sotheby’s announced that in its Evening Sale of Old Master and Early British Paintings in London on Wednesday, 7 July 2010, it will present for sale Joseph Mallord William Turner RA’s great masterpiece Modern Rome – Campo Vaccino, with an estimate of £12-18 million. Painted in 1839, this breathtaking painting shows the artist at the height of his technical powers and is undoubtedly among the most important of Turner’s works ever to come to auction. The painting is further distinguished by its immaculate condition and impeccable provenance, having only appeared on the open market once in the 171 years since it was painted. The picture was bought by the 5th Earl of Rosebery, and his wife Hannah Rothschild, in 1878 and has remained in his family collection ever since. This uninterrupted provenance ranks this work as perhaps the most important of only five comparable major Turner oil paintings remaining in private hands today. The auction of this painting presents an astonishingly rare opportunity. Arguably Turner’s finest depiction of an Italian city, this sun-filled panorama represents the culmination of the artist’s fascination with Rome, a fascination which lasted a period of more than 20 years.

Turner was fascinated by Italy - like many of his contemporaries and predecessors – and it was a country which provided him with a rich source of subject matter, particularly given his interest in the rise and fall of civilizations. Modern Rome – Campo Vaccino is his final painting of Rome and the monumental work, which measures 90.2 by 122cm (35.5 by 48 in), brings together all of the studies that he made during his two visits to the Italian capital. One of Turner’s most compelling landscapes, when he first exhibited it at the Royal Academy Turner chose to accompany the painting with lines from Byron’s Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage: “The moon is up and yet it is not night,/ the sun as yet divides the day with her.” However, Turner has done much more than merely capture the city lying in a moment between day and night; he has fused the city’s modern life with its historic past. Through meticulous attention to detail and a brilliant and bold use of colour he has recreated a sparkling city bathed in atmospheric light. The painting evokes the very essence and qualities of an Eternal City.

Artdaily.org

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Turner, Sotheby’s, Rome, Modern Rome Campo Vaccino, auction

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