Lot 199: Jacob More (Edinburgh 1740-1793 Rome)

Jacob More (Edinburgh 1740-1793 Rome) A view of Lake Albano, near Rome, with figures resting in the foreground, Castel Gandolfo beyond signed and dated 'JACOB MORE pinxit / ROME. 1778' and inscribed 'VIEW of the LAKE of ALBANO' (lower centre) oil on canvas 57 7/8 x 80¼ in. (149.5 x 203.7 cm.)

149.5 x 203.7 cm.

London, Society of Artists, 1777, no. 81.

Poynder family, Hilmarton, and by descent to the late husband of the following, Anonymous sale; Sotheby's London, 5 June 2008, lot 46, when acquired by the present owner.

In this captivating landscape, depicting the diminishing evening light across Lake Albano, Jacob More displays the exceptional talent that earned him the accolade amongst contemporaries as ‘without doubt the finest landscape-painter in the world‘ (D. Irwin, ‘Jacob More, Neo-Classical Landscape Painter‘, The Burlington Magazine, 114, no. 836, November 1972, p. 775). The golden hue presiding over the scene and More’s peaceful figures settling in the fore endow this scene with calmness and serenity. Scottish-born More, who passed most of his adult life in Italy, earning himself the sobriquet ‘More of Rome‘, was patronised by such distinguished figures as Prince Rezzonico, and Prince Marcantonio Borghese. His work was known to fetch higher prices than those of Claude, and he could number Goethe and Sir Joshua Reynolds among his admirers.