Leontine von Littrow “Evening Coast”

Leontine Camilla von Littrow, known as Leo von Littrow, was born in Trieste and grew up in Trieste and Fiume (today Rijeka). Around 1887 she lived in Abbazia, a prominent seaside resort of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which became a central place of her artistic production. She received her early training through occasional lessons with Hans Canon, before studying from around 1875 with the Paris-based painter Jean d’Alheim. During this period, she engaged closely with French Impressionism, whose influence would leave a lasting mark on her work. By the early 1880s, Leo von Littrow was exhibiting successfully in Vienna, Bremen, Munich, and London, and by around 1885 she was regarded as an established painter of the sea and of Italian and Dalmatian coastal landscapes.
The oil study Evening Rocky Coast exemplifies Littrow’s acute sensitivity to atmosphere and her refined powers of observation. The composition centers on a rugged rocky shoreline, where the last rays of the setting sun are reflected softly across the calm surface of the sea. Subtle gradations of light and shimmering reflections lend the scene a quiet, contemplative mood. In contrast to her more dynamic depictions of breaking waves, this work emphasizes stillness and balance, capturing the coastline in a moment of tranquil transition from day to night.
Littrow’s works were highly sought after by collectors, and her studio in Abbazia became a meeting place for prominent figures such as Ferdinand I, Prince of Bulgaria; Archduke Karl Stephan of Austria; and Crown Princess Stephanie of Austria, with whom Littrow maintained a lifelong friendship and correspondence.

A particularly significant recognition came in the mid-1880s, when she was awarded an honorary commission for the newly constructed imperial museums in Vienna—an honor granted to her as the only woman artist. For the ground-floor galleries of the Natural History Museum, she created the painting Coast of Ragusa. Today, works by Leo von Littrow are held in major public collections, including the Wien Museum, the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, and the Museo Revoltella in Trieste. Leo von Littrow died in 1925 in her hometown of Abbazia.