Art

Calyo, was an Italian painter who emigrated from Italy in 1834, specialising in close observation of people and places. He was an eyewitness to the Great Fire of 1835, and sketched day and night as the city was destroyed. He painted a number of compositions in gouache based on his sketches, and Bennett created his aquatint engravings from his images. Seventeen blocks on the south east tip of Manhattan were destroyed. Aquatint in colours with additional hand colouring in watercolour and hand-scribed border in grey ink on heavy wove paper. Image size: 50.4 x 66.8 cm. Sheet size: 53.7 x 70.2 cm. Repaired tear to upper and lower margins, just touching the black borders otherwise a bright copy.