View of Messina Harbor
Medium
Pen and black and brown ink, brush and brown and gray wash, over traces of black chalk; framing lines in pen and black ink
Dimensions
Sheet: 24 × 38 3/16 in. (61 × 97 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Harry G. Sperling Fund, 2013
Accession Number
2013.519
Tags
Art Historical Context
**View of Messina Harbor** Louis François Cassas (1783) offers a captivating glimpse into the vibrant Sicilian port city of Messina during the late Enlightenment era. Cassas, a architect, draftsman, and pioneering Orientalist traveler, created this expansive sheet (24 × 38 3/16 in.) part of his meticulous documentation of landscapes. Rendered during his Italian sojourn around 1782–84, drawing captures the harbor's bustling activity—ships at anchor amid densely packed buildings—evoking the's fascination with topography, trade, and classical antiquity. Executed in pen and black and brown ink wi...