An album of 49 Italian vedute, chiefly of Naples and its surrounds

Antonio Senape, a particularly prolific Italian vedutisto, catered to the burgeoning numbers of predominantly English Grand Tourists in the first half of the 19th Century, providing them with souvenirs of their travels. The use of tracing paper allowed the artist to reproduce and manipulate his works with the speed necessary to satisfy the tourist appetite. As well as views of Neapolitan streets, the port and the Bay of Naples with Etna, the present album also contains drawings of popular sites such as Paestum and Pompeii and views in Rome, Milan and Florence. Although many of Senape's drawings depict similar views, each is individualised by the lively cast of characters who populate the scenes; chattering fishermen, a speeding carriage, graceful peasant woman and elegant aristocrats bring these meticulously linear drawings to life. Very little is known about Senape himself. Inscriptions on some of his drawings have provided information as to his date and place of birth, but it is unclear exactly when he died. A drawing of a fountain in Pozzuoli dated to January 1853 in the present album appears to be the latest dated work currently known by the artist.