Ruins at Amathus

This octagonal watercolour of the end of the 18th century, exemplifies the Romantic era in art. The scene comes from the classical site of Amathus. Ruins of what must have once been an edifice provide the focal point of the picture, balanced on the right by a huge tree. It is near the shore as defined by two figures sailing in a boat. The watercolour falls within the period of the Grand Tour although Cyprus was never really part of it. The few artists who did visit the island, seeking out sites of classical antiquity, found most frequented by members of the local Moslem population. In this case, five figures in Ottoman attire and wearing fez seem to be picnicking next to the ruins. A seated man is smoking his tsibuk (long pipe) in the foreground while the figure next to him appears to be wearing a sheepskin cape indicating it is winter. Three more figures in the background, two seated cross-legged on the ground, are relaxing in the wooded surroundings and carrying on a conversation. This scene, like those by Luigi Mayer and Louis François Cassas, projects the classical civilization of Cyprus diluted by a somewhat intrusive Ottoman presence.