#MC15
1827-1829
Oblong Folio (ca. 26,5x37,5 cm). 57 leaves. With 13 mounted watercolours and drawings (five within hand drawn ink frames), the majority ca. 17x25 cm (6 ½ x 10 in), others slightly larger or smaller. Watercolour, ink and pencil on paper. Six works captioned, signed or dated by the artist; also with her ink inscription on the front pastedown endpaper “Charlotte Smith. Nov. 30th 1829”. Album with period marble papered boards, neatly rebacked (gilt tooled brown red half straight grained morocco). A near fine album.
An attractive collection of watercolours and drawings by a skilled artist, showing preciseness and attention to the smallest details. The pencil drawings include three impressive views of the German Rhine castles – ‘Vautsberg’ (Burg Rheinstein) and the castle of Heidelberg (general panorama and a view of the inner yard); there are also two large ink drawings of the Tagus River with fishermen's’ boats, and a serene ink drawn view of Moreton Hall, a 16th century half-timbered manor in Cheshire. The watercolours are represented with a sketch of a baroque building in Ghent, two large views of an Italian city, probably Venice, with gondolas on water, locals lazily strolling down the street and laundry drying outside; an interior of an Italian (?) courtyard with impressive columns, a scene with two men in Turkish costumes taking water from a street fountain, an architectural style drawing of a reception hall, and a colourful sketch of a manor.
