Page 68 - Beholding Liberty!
P. 68
68 BEHOLDING LIBERTY!
I.1.18
Joseph Schranz (1803 – ca. 1853) View of the island of Zante watercolour on paper, 25.5 x 41 cm
Hellenic Parliament Art Collection, inv. n. 491
JOSEPH SCHRANZ, a German-born painter who lived (from 1818) in Malta and, from time to time, in Constantinople, was one of the sons of the artistic family of Anton Schranz (1769-1839), also a painter.
He is renowned for his topographical views, espe- cially panoramas, and engravings, together with his brother, Antonio, for the family printing business.
Here, in a finely executed watercolour, he depicts the
port and town of Zakynthos, integrated into the nat- ural environment, seen from the countryside; in the foreground, figures of resting Greek peasants. The vegetation and the fountain, on the right, combined with the atmospheric clarity in the background and the bright colours, evoke an idyllic mood.
It was probably painted between 1824 and 1828, when there is evidence of Schranz’s visits to the Io- nian Islands with his brother, Giovanni [cat. no II.6.8].
