Lot 2510 Dα

Hess was accepted as a pupil at the Munich Academy in 1806 when he was 14 years old. He completed his military service in the General Staff of Prince Carl Philipp von Wrede, fighting in the wars from 1813 to 1815 and accompanying the prince to the Congress of Vienna. Hess made numerous sketches during this period, upon which he later based his oil paintings. This watercolour reflects the bright southern sun and pastoral atmosphere of rural Italy. It was painted in 1830 in the surrounding countryside of Rome, shortly before Hess set off to accompany King Otto I to Greece in 1833.