Vue Générale des Ruines du Monastère de Cazzafani, dans l'Ile de, Cypre. First edition of the engraving. -

1799. Original engraving. 35.5 x 53cm. Large stain in lower right corner...from: Voyage pittoresque de la Syrie, de la Phoenicie, de la Palaestine et de la Basse Aegypte: ouvrage divisé en trois volumes contenant environ trois cent trente planches , 1799....Louis Francois Cassas was sent to the Near East by his patron Ambassador to the Porte Choiseul-Gouffier to produce sketches for his forthcoming book Le Voyage Pittoresque de la Syrie, de la Phoenicie, Palestine et la Basse Egypte. He came to Cyprus in 1785 on his way from Alexandretta to Egypt because of a storm. Six engravings of views of Cyprus are included in Choiseul-Gouffier’s book. Cassas made thirteen illustrations of Cyprus, two of these are still missing and references in the French archives indicate that these were of Amathus. The watercolour is one of three that exist made by Cassas of Cyprus. It is another view of the abbey, also known as Episcopia or the White Abbey, Abbee de la Paix, and Telabaise. Augustinian monks lived there until 1206 when Thierry, Archbishop of Cyprus authorized them to adopt Premonstratensian rule. The abbey flourished up until the end of Venetian rule when its influence declined and the French monks occupying the abbey allowed the buildings to fall into disrepair. Bellapais Abbey was abandoned in 1571 and only a small Christian church within the abbey remained in use. The area surrounding the edifice, being one of the most idyllic places in northern Cyprus, has been rendered faithfully. The lush vegetation envelopes and compliments the focal point of the painting and contributes to its grandeur. T