Photo: Houghton Library at Harvard University, USA
A large collection of paintings, drawings and sketches of landscapes by the English painter, novelist, poet, and travel writer Edward Lear is currently on display at the Robevci House in Ohrid, which he made during his visit to Ohrid and Bitola in 1848. In the 19th century, he was the only Englishman to explore the Ohrid Region, from where he received inspiration for his works of art.
In 1848, Lear, on a journey from Greece to Constantinople, entered the wild territories of the then Ottoman Empire. Through Aegean Macedonia he came to Prespa, Bitola and Ohrid, and from there continued to Albania. What he painted and wrote during this journey of his is of great significance for Macedonia and is an important document for the country of that time.
Lear is considered an extraordinary figure of the first half of the 19th century. Unlike his contemporaries, he expressed a strong interest in wild, natural landscapes. In his own specific way, Lear painted the scenes he encountered and the intense emotions he experienced, and it was precisely the journey from Thessaloniki to Ohrid in September 1848, during the period of Ottoman rule, that provided an opportunity for his talent as a painter and novelist to come to the fore.
Photo: Houghton Library at Harvard University, USA
Source: sdk.mk
English 
Macedonian