Subject: Chios, Greece
Period: 1698 (circa)
Publication: Reizen van Cornelis de Bruyn, door de Vermaardtse Deelen van Klein Asie…
Color: Hand Color
Size:
49.8 x 11.3 inches
126.5 x 28.7 cm
Superb panoramic view of Chios viewed across the city to the Turkish mainland in the background. Cornelius van Bruyn (1652-1726) was a painter who traveled through the Holy Land and other portions of Asia. De Bruyn had to disguise his activities because this was a repressive period during the Ottoman rule when foreigners were regarded with suspicion and the making of "graven images" was prohibited. De Bruyn avoided detection by pretending to be picnicking with two Franciscan monks who stood guard while he made his drawings. His works are particularly historically valuable because of their accuracy. Printed on two joined sheets as issued.
References:
Condition: B+
A crisp impression issued folding with a couple archivally repaired tears at top left and top right and short fold separations confined to the margins.