Provenance: Swiss private collection.

This view of Lake Geneva is a rare example of the small oeuvre of known works by the Danish artist Simon Malgo. It is distinguished by particularly fine and high quality painting. We are grateful to Alexandre Fiette, director of Maison Tavel, who has identified this painting as clearly the work of Simon Malgo based on first hand examination. He compares it with a 1788 dated and signed version of the same motif which is currently at Maison Tavel in Geneva (formerly Musée d'Art et d'Histoire; see Buyssens, Danielle: Musée d'Art et d'Histoire. Catalogue des Peintures et Pastel, Geneva 1988, Cat. No. 204, p. 112-113). Fiette suggests that our panel was also produced in 1778. We are also grateful to Vincent Chenal, specialist of 18th century Genovese painting at the University of Geneva, for concurring with this opinion. An engraving by Malgo with the same composition is also known (see De Loës, Barbara and Roland: Genève par la gravure et l'aquarelle, Genève 1988).