Johann Jakob Wolfensberger began his artistic career as a colorist of copper engravings, which explains his mastery in watercolors, to which he later devoted himself almost exclusively. In 1817, he traveled to Italy, initially as an assistant to the Zurich landscape painter Wilhelm Huber (1787–1871) in Naples. Following quarrels with Huber, he was on his own and managed to find new sponsors and patrons thanks to his ability to draw in watercolors, which was particularly valued by aristocrats traveling Italy at that time. The Duke of Berwick commissioned him to travel to Sicily to draw the characteristic landscape and ancient sites. The Duke was so content with these drawings and watercolors that he recommended him to a larger circle of aristocratic clients such as Prince Phillip of Hesse-Homburg, Hortense de Beauharnais and the Marquis Spencer-Joshua-Alwyne Northampton. In his watercolors, Wolfensberger succeeded in both delivering on views that had become a standard for painters and travelers, such as the view of Naples from the Posillipo, and, as is the case here, to add unexpected elements like the tree towering in the middle. This special quality makes his watercolors stand out in the mass of illustrations of Italy, as much then as today. [KT]