Lot 24: Ioannis Altamoura , Greek 1852-78 Sailing Along the Coast, Skagen oil on canvas

signed, inscribed and dated Skagen 27 Aug 76 lower left oil on canvas

44 by 63.5cm., 17½ by 25in.

Aphrodite Kouria, Fifty-Five Unknown Works, Athens, 2002, illustrated

Private Collection, Athens (circa 1900); thence by descent
Acquired by the present owner from the above

The present work, the largest and most important work of this period, by the artist to appear at auction, was painted while Altamoura was in Skagen, on the northern coast of Denmark. This region is known for its unique natural beauty, comprising the shifting dunes of Sandmilen and the dramatic crashing waves that are products of the collision between Kattegat and the North Sea. Altamouras portrayed the changing face of this area in his seascapes several years before Skagen's plein air painters rose to international prominence. Altamoura's landscapes, portraits and naval battles of the Greek War of Independence paved the way for the marine works of fellow Greek artist Constantinos Volanakis.

The son of the Italian Saverio Altamura, a professor at the Naples school of Fine Arts, and the painter Eleni Boukouri, Altamouras received his first fine art lessons from his mother at an early age. After studying between 1871-72 at the Athens School of Fine Arts under Nikephoros Lytras, Altamouras was awarded a scholarship by Greece's King George I and attended the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen. This cultural cross-pollination was encouraged by George I, a Danish prince crowned by the Greek National Assembly, much as the Munich School of Greek painting had flourished under King Otto I of Greece.