John Varley, OWS (British, 1778-1842) An Italianate landscape with figures sitting by a lake and a temple beyond inscribed 'Composition / Italian scenery' (to the reverse) watercolour on paper 29.5 x 38.5cm Footnote: The present lot is a characteristic mid-period watercolour, dated to circa 1825, an ideal classical style landscape in the spirit of Claude and Richard Wilson. It incorporates all the features one associates with Varley's art of this period, as mentioned by him in his Treatise on the Principles of Landscape Design: mountains in the distance, a clear sky with light floating clouds, a framing tree, a bridge and a winding path in the foreground. The classical temple was sometimes added to his ideal landscapes to give them an Italianate air. We are grateful to Anne Lyles for endorsing the attribution to John Varley and for her assistance with this catalogue entry.