(Zara 1842–1905 Graz)
“Englische Eskadre in Triest 1881”, according to the title on the reverse on an old label, signed, inscribed, dated and titled L. Rubelli Gorizia 1881, no. 244, La quadra Inglese a Trieste nell’anno 1881, oil on canvas, 43 x 69 cm, framed, (W)

Provenance:
Private Collection Vienna, for at least three generations

Ludwig Rubelli von Sturmfest served in the Imperial and Royal Navy from 1861 to 1863 and devoted himself to his artistic career subsequently. He focused on marine painting, for which he received much acclaim. His ship depictions are among the best of this genre, particularly due to his technical understanding of ship operations. He organised small exhibitions from the 1880s onwards, including in Fiume (Rijeka), Budapest and Trieste.
In this lot, Rubelli von Sturmfest shows the port of Trieste and its busy shipping traffic. Situated on the upper Adriatic, the town came under Hapsburg rule in 1382 and became the largest and most important port of the Hapsburg monarchy in 1719, after it was elevated to the status of a free port. It was one of the most linguistically and culturally diverse cities in the Hapsburg Empire, the Sea Arsenal of Austrian Lloyd was built there in 1836 and it acted as the home port for the Austro-Hungarian merchant fleet. In addition to ships flying the Austro-Hungarian flag, shipping traffic was mainly conducted under the English and Italian flags. Here, Rubelli von Sturmfest shows the city and port of Trieste in the background, with an English squadron in the foreground.