Ariccia near Rome

Ariccia near Rome
Ariccia near Rome
Ariccia near Rome
Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge
title=Credit line
Artist
Richard Wilson (1713/14-1782)
Title
Ariccia near Rome
Date
c.1754-56 (undated)
Medium
Graphite, matt black and white chalk on blue paper
Dimensions
Metric: 311 x 538 mm
Imperial: 12 1/4 x 21 3/8 in.
Accession Number
PD.93-1992
Wilson Online Reference
D261A
Description
The view shows part of the town, the Chigi Palace and Bernini's Church of Santa Maria dell'Assunzione
Provenance
Sir Edward Marsh; Mrs Daphne Singer; Thomas Agnew & Son; bt 1992 by the Fitzwilliam Museum from the Gaskell Fund
Signature/inscription
Unsigned; no inscription
Subject
Located between the lakes of Nemi and Albano on the Via Appia Nuova, south-east of Rome. Ariccia was celebrated for its groves, thought to have been the hunting-grounds of the goddess Diana. The area had been a haunt of Wilson's admired predecessor, Gaspard Dughet (1615-1675). The town was acquired by the Chigi family in 1661 and in the following year they commissioned Bernini to modernise the old palace of the Savelli, Princes of Albano, and to build a new church.
Related Drawings
D261 Ariccia, Tate, London
D407 Ariccia from Lake Albano, Kupferstich-Kabinett, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden
Related Works by Other Artists
[1] Giovanni Battista Falda (1643-1678), Veduta della Nobil Terra d'Ariccia, engraving, 1665
[2] Jonathan Skelton (c.1735-1759), View of Ariccia, c.1758, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (2003.103)
[3] John Downman (1750-1824), Chigi Park near L'Ariccia, 1773-74, Tate, London (T10175)
[4] Francis Towne (1739-1816): Ariccia, 1781, The British Museum (Nn,3.14)
[5] William Pars (1742-1782): Palazzo Chigi, Ariccia, near Albano, Victoria & Albert Museum, London
[6] John 'Warwick' Smith (1749-1831): A View of Ariccia, near Albano, Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge
[7] John Robert Cozens (1752-1779): Ariccia, Birmingham Museums & Art Gallery
Critical commentary
David Solkin has commented that although Wilson painted and drew several sites on the outskirts of Ariccia near Lake Albano, this is one of the few examples of his focusing on the town itself.
Condition/Conservation
Float-mounted but no marks verso. The paper has been folded vertically at the centre. The remains of a dark blue mount lining are visible lower right. Unfinished, apart from the architecture.
Updated by Compiler
2022-01-24 00:00:00