Palermo

Finely executed pencil drawing on paper; the location is indicated at the bottom right, while the artist's signature and the date of execution are on the verso: "C. Pioline 1865".

Typical of the style of 19th-century Grand Tour travelers, the sheet belonged to a travel notebook: at the top right, in brown ink, is the sequential number "28".

The drawing depicts the spectacular Palazzata della Marina, a scenic array of noble palaces with terraces and monumental loggias overlooking the sea, with the unmistakable outline of Monte Pellegrino and the surrounding mountains forming the backdrop on the left.

Although signed, we have not been able to identify the artist, who is not listed in the main repertoires (Bénézit and Thieme-Becker). The surname Pioline is typically French, especially common in the regions of Normandy and western France. Although not among the most celebrated academic painters of the period, "C. Pioline" belongs to the large group of cultured artists, travelers, or talented amateur draftsmen who visited Italy in the mid-19th century to immortalize its most picturesque landscapes.

The 1865 date is of great historical interest: Italy had been unified only four years earlier (1861). Despite being a life drawing, the artist demonstrates excellent accuracy in reproducing the city skyline. Works of this type - animated views signed and dated by artists on the Grand Tour or in the early post-unification period - possess considerable historical and documentary value, as they depict the urban layout before the major building transformations and restorations of the twentieth century.

In excellent condition.