Lot 118: SIMON-JOSEPH-ALEXANDRE-CLÉMENT DENIS

SIMON-JOSEPH-ALEXANDRE-CLÉMENT DENIS ANTWERP 1755 - 1813 NAPLES A VIEW OF NAPLES FROM THE PORTICI, THE CASTEL DELL'OVO ON THE LEFT signed twice in ink D and numbered 160 (on verso); inscribed in a later hand in pencil Denis Simon Peintre Flamand de XVIII / Mort à Naples en 1813. Les tableaux sont / exposés au Louvre (Paris) / Compiègne / Anvers / Montpellier / Il signait tantôt Imon Denis / tantot S. Denis / tantot S. D / tantot D. oil on paper 12 1/8 by 17 1/2 in. 12 1/8 by 17 1/2 in.; 30.9 by 44.5 cm.

Castel dell'Ovo ("The Egg Castle") sits on the small island of Megaride, off the coast of Naples. According to legend, the poet Virgil, rumored to be a wizard, left an egg in an iron cage, hanging on a truss in the depths of the crypts underlying the castle. As long as the enchanted egg hung safely, the castle and the entire city of Naples would also be secure. The castle which still looms over the harbor, built atop of the ruins of a Roman villa, was constructed by the Normans in the 12υth century.