Italian Sketchbook - Drawings pp. 19(v) and 20(r)

Italian Sketchbook - Drawings pp. 19(v) and 20(r)
Italian Sketchbook - Drawings pp. 19(v) and 20(r)
Italian Sketchbook - Drawings pp. 19(v) and 20(r)
Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection
title=Credit line
Artist
Richard Wilson (1713/14-1782)
Title
Italian Sketchbook - Drawings pp. 19(v) and 20(r)
Date
1754
Medium
Graphite with black chalk on medium, rough, blued white wove paper
Dimensions
Metric: 281 x 210 mm (each sheet)
Imperial: 11 1/16 x 8 1/4 in. (each sheet)
Accession Number
B1977.14.359 v19 & r20
Wilson Online Reference
D280/19
Description
19(v): A group of poplars is seen behind a wall and closed gate
20(r): A quick study of a funeral altar
Provenance
Oldfield Bowles; given to Sir George Beaumont, 1784; thence by descent until 1963, when sold to Paul Mellon
Signature/inscription
Unsigned; 20(r) inscribed on the right side: D[is].M[anibus]. [/] [illegible marks]
Critical commentary
The location of the poplars is too general for identification, as is that of the funeral altar, which is decorated with a ewer (urceus), perhaps symbolising the outpouring of a libation or of life itself and inscribed 'To the blessed Souls of the Dead ...'
Previous Cat/Ref Nos
Object ID: 6363
Bibliography
Sutton & Clements 1968, vol. 1, pp. 18-19; vol. 2, p. 38
More Information
Only two sketchbooks by Wilson have survived - the present one (D280-D280/33) and D53-D53/81 Studies and Designs by R. Wilson done in Rome in the Year MDCCLII, Victoria & Albert Museum, London (E.3586-1922).
Updated by Compiler
2016-06-14 00:00:00