A British Man-o-War Entering Grand Harbour, Malta

Location

Country: Malta
City: Valletta
Place: British High Commission

Giovanni Schranz was born in Minorca. His father, Anton, and two of his brothers, Antonio and Josef, were marine and landscape painters. Giovanni arrived in Malta in 1818 and settled there after his marriage to Maria Concetta Scolaro, with whom he had nine children. Giovanni and his brother Antonio ran their father’s studio after his death in 1839. Together they produced lithographic prints of naval and marine subjects. However, Giovanni is best remembered for his oil and watercolour paintings, made during a career spanning over 60 years. He exhibited two oils at the Paris Exposition in 1867. In the last years of his life Giovanni suffered financial difficulties and was forced to sell the family home. He died the day after it was sold.

Places

Mediterranean Sea, Malta, Grand Harbour

Subjects

rowing boat, fisherman, fishing rod, topography, seascape/coastal scene, townscape/cityscape, stone/rock, sea, flag, harbour, fortification, Man o'War

Materials & Techniques

paper (as artists material), watercolour (as artists materials), watercolour (as object name)

Artist

Giovanni Schranz (1794 - 1882)

Title

A British Man-o-War Entering Grand Harbour, Malta

Date

Medium

Watercolour on paper

Dimensions

height: 28.00 cm, width: 46.00 cm

Acquisition

Purchased from Christie's, 26 April 1977

Provenance

Sold through Christie's, London, on 26 April 1977 (Lot 85), as 'A British Man O' War Entering Grand Harbour, Valetta'; form which sale purchased by the Department of the Environment

GAC number

13278