`The purpose of Lear's travels were to build up a collection of drawings of interesting and beautiful places on which he could base both oils and finished watercolours. He went to Athens and Jerusalem, which were subjects for artists at that time. He also travelled to more remote areas, which had previously never been painted.'(1) The South of France was not as remote as Lear would have appreciated, as in a letter to Holman Hunt Lear wrote: If you want to be quiet anywhere for miles round Nice, and sit down to draw - lo! presently, 30 parties of smart young ladies on donkies immediately surround you - and in a twinkling the ground is white with tablecloths, and liveried servants are opening champagne bottles. `The drawings Lear made were done in pencil, with often extensive notes about colour and content which would provide the necessary reference for later work back in his studio. He wrote in the location, date and occasionally the time of the drawing, numbering the order, which would begin again when he moved from one country to the next. After his return, he laid in colour washes based on the notes he had made, and `penned out' the pencil drawing and writing in ink, a task which filled winter evenings once the light had gone.'(2) This drawing was made during his trip around the Mediterranean, leaving Italy to return in England. 1. Vivien Noakes, Edward Lear 1812-1888, London, 1986, page 105 2. Ibid.