Jørgen B. Hartmann, A Catalogue Raisonné of the Works of M. Rørbye, mentioned in the travel diaries 1834–41, 1950, no. 31. Thorvaldsens Museum, A Catalogue Raisonné of the Works of Martinus Rørbye, 1981, no. 116.

Exhibited: Kunstforeningen 1838. Kunstforeningen, “Fortegnelse over M. Rørbyes arbejder”, 1905 no. 72.

Provenance: Presumably Eleonora Frederikke Rørbye, her husband, Professor Valdemar Stein; his widow Johanne Charlotte Stein, née Lautrup (1905). Winkel & Magnussen auction 399, 1956 no. 38, ill. p. 7. Here acquired by director Kai Nagler.

The present painting is a study for no. 213 in Thorvaldsens Museum, A Catalogue Raisonné of the Works of Martinus Rørbye, 1981. This painting entitled “Pergola med udsigt til Amalfi, i baggrunden kysten ved Kalabrien” (Pergola with a view of Amalfi, in the background the coast of Calabria) is dated 1844 and was exhibited at Charlottenborg in 1845 as no. 4. Here, in the pergola, you see two Italian women with baskets full of grapes and a little boy who is tempted by a bunch of grapes.

In the years 1834–37, Rørbye was on a great trip abroad, which took him to Italy, Greece and Turkey. From his preserved diaries we know that he arrived in Amalfi on 31 July 1835 and spent the entire month of August in the town. He made i.a. a number of drawings and six painted studies, including the present painting. Most well-known from the August stay is probably “Parti af torvet i Amalfi” (View from the square in Amalfi), which was at sold Bruun Rasmussen auction 883, 2018, no. 139 for DKK 1,900,000 to the National Gallery of Denmark (Inv. No. KMS8884).

Martinus Rørbye writes in his diary on 1 August 1835 about the creation of the present painting (in Danish): “The nature here is everything you could wish for of beauty. This morning I started on a study of the monastery yard and in the afternoon: on one in the garden”. On 7 August, he writes: “I have started on a study out in the garden; but it is not really working properly there; the intolerable heat of the sun almost drives you crazy, and you are sleepy for the rest of the day and have no further desire to work. God knows when I'll be quite diligent again”. On 8 August: “In the morning I painted on my study of the garden, but there is no prospect of it being good, partly because the heat is too strong, partly also because the light only comes late and disappears quickly”. On 9 August: “In the morning I painted on my study [...]”. On 10 August: “I finished my study of the garden in the morning, and in the afternoon I went for a stroll to bathe, as it was extremely hot”.

Despite the difficulty of working in the heat, Rørbye has managed to capture the beauty of the south with the lush vines, ripe fruit, the warm rays of sunlight on the columns, and the azure blue sea and the iconic white houses jutting out from the cliffs on the coast.

Rørbye returned to Copenhagen in 1837, and he brought home lots of studies, drawings, sketches, etc. from all the places he had been, and several of these were immediately exhibited on his return. Several of the works aroused great enthusiasm and were praised in Kunstforeningens (the Danish Art Association's) magazine Dansk Kunstblad. Among others, the present painting was briefly described (in Danish): “A view of the delightfully situated Amalfi with the adjacent sea from a pergola is extremely picturesque.” (Dansk Kunstblad, Saturday 17 February 1838 no. 1, p. 4).