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The Hermitage, Villa Madama
Christie's Images Limited 2014
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Richard Wilson (1713/14-1782)
The Hermitage, Villa Madama
Undated
Oil on canvas
61.6 x 82.5 cm.
24 1/2 x 32 1/2 in.
Private Collection, England
P91C
In a shady glade, a lane runs across the foreground and on the left a man and a woman greet a friar. A rustic building is at the centre, overhung by trees, while to the right on a gentle slope, a line of trees and small figures are silhouetted against the sunset sky, where birds are flying.
Christie's London, 2 May 1986 (197); Private Collection, England; Sotheby's London, 9 March 1988 (68)
The Villa Madama was designed by Raphael for Cardinal Giuliano dei Medici (later Pope Clement VII) and took its name from having been occupied by Margaret of Austria, daughter of the Emperor Charles V, and Duchess of Parma, in the late 16th century. The location shown was probably called 'Il Teatro' as the tragicomedy Il Pastor Fido by G.B. Guarini was performed there in about 1590. From this the libretto of Handel's eponymous opera was derived (1712, revived 1734).
E14 William Byrne after Wilson A View in the Villa Madama, near Rome, called Il Teatro, 1765, Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection, New Haven (B1984.21.428) and other impressions
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This composition was clearly one of Wilson's 'good breeders' as at least five authentic versions are known. The present picture may be one of the untraced versions mentioned in WGC.
WGC pp. 202-3 under pl. 82a