Charles-François GRENIER DE LACROIX known as LACROIX DE MARSEILLE (Marseille, circa 1700 - Berlin, after 1784) Vessel flying the flag of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem in the port of Naples with fishermen Canvas 48 x 64 cm Signed, localized and dated "De La Croix / Rom / 1760" On the reverse, an old label "Röbbig 2" and "G. Röbbig n°132 München". Old restorations Provenance : From Röbbig in Munich (according to a label on the reverse of the stretcher and frame) ; Anonymous sale, London, Phillips, December 10, 1991, no. 48, reproduced in color (£19,000). Castel Nuovo can be identified in the background, with the church of San Giorgio dei Genovesi on the left, in the distance. The three-masted ship in port is flying a large red flag with a white cross, probably that of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem. In Rome in 1760, Lacroix de Marseille had been in Italy for some twenty years. He painted light-filled views of Mediterranean ports for an international clientele on their Grand Tour.