Street scene Naples

The Ruskins were in Naples for two months at the beginning of 1841, and several large drawings were made in a style emulating that of Prout. The weather was poor, however, and the city left on Ruskin an impression that he later confirmed, in a letter of 1874: ‘certainly the most disgusting place in Europe … the most loathsome nest of human caterpillars I was ever forced to stay in‘.