Ascan Lutteroth (1842-1923) Capri - The Faraglioni Hamburg

Ascan LUTTEROTH
(Hamburg, 1842 - Hamburg, 1923)
Capri, the Faraglioni
Oil on canvas
H. 46 cm; W. 81 cm
Signed lower right
Probably around 1895

Considered the most important Hamburg landscape painter of his time, Lutteroth first trained in Geneva, with Alexandre Calame, between 1861 and 1864, then in Düsseldorf with Oswald Achenbach, until 1867. He then spent three years traveling in Italy, where he painted numerous views of Rome and the Amalfi coast, particularly Capri, before settling in Berlin until 1877. He then settled permanently in Hamburg, but regularly made trips to Italy. Renowned for his lighting effects and warm atmospheres, Lutteroth offers us here an iconic but original view of Capri (there is a fairly similar painting dated 1894). On the occasion of this moonrise, the contrast between the ochre-orange hue of the Faraglioni crushed by the setting sun, and the black rocks remaining in the shade, as well as the blue shades of the sky and the sea, creates an almost supernatural effect. The grandiose nature is barely animated by tiny fishing boats and a group of seagulls. The whole recalls the paintings of the 1860s by Octave Penguilly-L'Haridon.