A quaint village scene of Verres, Aosta Valley, Italy. Oil on canvas, signed Clarkson Stanfield bottom centre. Some flaking and retouching. Circa 1839.
H 550mm, W 650mm
Clarkson Stanfield RA RBA (1793 – 1867) was a prominent English painter, scenery designer, and illustrator for Charles Dickens. He was elected Associate Member of the Royal Academy in 1832, and became a full Academician in February 1835. His elevation was in part a result of the interest of King William IV who commissioned two works from him. The Opening of the New London Bridge and The Entrance to Portsmouth Harbour, both remain in the Royal Collection. In 1844 he became first curator of the Naval Gallery at Greenwich. His works are held in The Victoria & Albert, The British Museum, The Tate Gallery, The Metropolitan Museum of Art and notable galleries around the world.
Charles Dickens was a lifelong friend and was one of the last to see Stanfield on the day he died. After Clarkson’s death, Dickens wrote to Stanfield’s son “No one of your father’s friends can ever have loved him more dearly than I always did, or can have better known the worth of his noble character.” A volume of the letters from Dickens to Stanfield was published after Stanfield’s death, and only two copies are known to still exist. One of these is at the Dickens Museum in London.
The engraving of the same scene, drawn by Clarkson Stanfield, engraved by Charles Heath, is held in the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne.
Early portrait and later photo of Clarkson.
Photo showing the main buildings in the painting, as they are today. The priory and bell tower were built in the late 15th/early 16th century. The parish church of St. Giles ( Italian, Sant’Egidio ) was built in 1775.
$1,800.00