This buoyant late 19th-century oil painting by Danish artist Niels Frederik Schiøttz-Jensen (1855-1941) depicts a coastal view in Capri, Italy, with a travelling family. Schiøttz-Jensen was a celebrated painter of landscapes, figures and scenes.

A loyal donkey trudges along a mountain path carrying a caprese traveller and his pack, while a woman and young boy walk behind. The light is irresistible and quintessentially Mediterranean, enlivening the glimmering sea as it stretches towards a tinted horizon.

Italy was a popular destination for Danish artists and Schiøttz-Jensen was no exception, capturing numerous views here. He had a love affair with Capri and visited at least four times - in 1886 (along with Pompei), in 1891/2, in 1900, and in 1908. During his sojourn in 1892, he produced a study of the donkey rider we see here, so we can assume that this piece was done around the same time.

Schiøttz-Jensen studied at the Royal Danish Academy of Art in Copenhagen and later in Paris at the Académie Colarossi. His work was widely exhibited during his lifetime and he was awarded the Academy Art Prize twice along with the first class annual medal in 1895.

Signed in the lower right and held within a later frame.

Learn more about Niels Frederik Schiøttz-Jensen in our directory.

Medium: Oil on canvas
Overall size: 32½” x 25½” / 82cm x 65cm
Year of creation: c. 1892
Provenance: Private collection, Denmark.
Condition: Cleaned. Areas of fine and settled craquelure. The paint layer is stable. Frame in excellent condition.
Artist’s auction maximum: £31,000 for ‘Lady Reading (1894)’, Oil on canvas, Sotheby’s, 19th Century European Paintings, London, 15 June 2004 (lot 324).
Our reference: BRV1967