Genoa: Fishing Boat on the Beach of Nervi, View of Torre Gropallo and Monte Fasce, ca. 1870

About the Work

In the late 1850s, photographer Alfred Noack emigrated to Italy. After four years in Rome, he opened a photo studio in Genoa and focused his art intensely on the Italian Riviera. This picture of the beach at Nervi looks astoundingly modern because of the way the rocky coast protrudes diagonally into the picture. The perspective exerts a certain pull on the viewer, which is increased by the empty boat. Thanks to the careful shading, the individual features of the landscape look almost like monochrome areas which stand out from each other on account of the sharp contours.