James Webb (British, 1825-1895)
Constantinople
signed and dated 'James Webb 1873' (lower left), dated and inscribed '1873-4/Constantinople/Painted by/James Webb for W.Wardle Esq' and signed with monogram (on the reverse)
oil on canvas
61.5 x 102.5cm (24 3/16 x 40 3/8in).
Footnotes:
Provenance
W. Wardle esq. (from the artist).
With W. Barker & Co., Harrogate, 1928.
Private collection, UK.

The canvas has not been lined. There is a repair to the upper right quadrant of the canvas verso, this corresponds to an area of very fragile flaking paint on the work measuring approximately 3 x 5cm. There is fine craquelure, this is particularly apparent in the sky where it is beginning to lift slightly - there is some dirt imbedded into this cracking. Across much of the sky and across the centre of the work there are small white spots on the paint surface, this appears to be some kind of mould caused by damp. Inspection under UV light reveals some small scattered lines of retouching to the lower third; old retouching around the aforementioned flaking paint in the sky; and some other possible old retouching across the sky, however the age of this does make it difficult to read.