View of the Straits of Messina from a Country House

Trained in his native Denmark, Emil Holm was drawn to Italy, like many Northern European artists before him.  This panoramic view of the vineyards and olive groves of Sicily looks across the Straits of Messina toward the Italian mainland.  The scene is striking for its pervasive stillness, but the terrace, in deep afternoon shadow, shows evidence of recent human activity.  Holm's meticulous technique and introspective mood are characteristic of what has come to be called the Golden Age of Danish painting.