Leontine von Littrow

Grown up at the Adriatic Sea, Leontine Camilla von Littrow, lovingly called Leo, was already painting so much at the age of 16, that she ran out of utensils. The sea, the coast, ports and sailboats always served as her favourite motive. Her father Heinrich von Littrow – important captain, cartograph and sea-inspector of the marine, had been an author and illustrator. He had captured the landscape of the coast between Venice to Trieste. The work on hand shows an atmospheric view of Venice, where Littrow sometimes stayed with family or friends. Even her father spent his days there, studying in the k.k. marine-academy. Later on, his talented daughter followed her there, where the brother of her godmother Camilla countess of Hoyos – born as countess of Erdödy – owned a palazzo. Additionally, her son George of Hoyos rented the Palazzo Barbiere at the Canal Grande. Alice of Hoyos, daughter of the torpedo producer Whitehead, had been the wife of George and a good friend of the artist. She too had a passion to paint and had been taught by Littrow, like her daughters. The artist probably stayed in Venice for that. Given the picturesque and art loving surroundings, Littrow was given the chance to unfold her talent completely. In the mornings she had been already able to catch the buzzing of the fishermen and merchants at the pier, veiled in warmth of the sunlight breaking through the cloud’s thick blanket, on her canvas. Her focus had been – without doubt - the wooden boats: While those still laid in the shade, the colourful sails had been caught by the light, as well as the walls of the pier and the typically venetian buildings. Light and shadows are reflected in the water of the lagoon, creating a spectre from anthracite to a shimmering bright blue, where the surface of the sea reflects the soft rays of the sun. Even with the clouded sky – that takes in nearly all of the upper half of the picture – Littrow knew how to catch the lightning well. The warm yellow, pink and light grey of the clouds as well as the hidden blue of the sky filled the space. Typical for the artist is the ever-changing style of brushstrokes. This painting proves why Leontine von Littrow and Olga Wisinger-Florian, meeting in 1887, immediately had gotten along and had painted together. Both worked with impressionism focused on atmosphere at that time. also called poetic realism. They saw in each other closely intertwined artistic souls.