The Villa of Maecenas at Tivoli (Ruins at the Villa of Maecenas…

The Villa of Maecenas at Tivoli (Ruins at the Villa of Maecenas…
The Villa of Maecenas at Tivoli (Ruins at the Villa of Maecenas…
The Villa of Maecenas at Tivoli (Ruins at the Villa of Maecenas…
Courtesy of the President and Fellows of Magdalen College, Oxford
title=Credit line
Artist
Studio of Wilson
Title
The Villa of Maecenas at Tivoli (Ruins at the Villa of Maecenas, Tivoli)
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
Metric: 46.8 x 37.8 cm
Imperial: 18 3/8 x 14 7/8 in.
Accession Number
P0805
Wilson Online Reference
P137C
Description
The scene features one of the vast arcaded galleries of what was thought at the time to be the ruined Villa of Maecenas. To the right a monk directs a well-dressed lady carrying papers towards a small archway. On the left a river winds its way behind a poplar or cypress tree. The shadows fall sharply from the upper left.
Provenance
Col. M.H. Grant; bt by Col. R.H.R. Brocklebank, November 1946; bequeathed to Magdalen College by Col. Brocklebank 1965
Techniques and materials
Clouds are very blobby and fluffy. The foliage is general and impastoed. The figures are on a tiny scale and heavily impastoed. The painting of the arches is quite clumsy. The horizon line is dropped satisfactorily to the right of the tree.
Subject
In 1955 the building was considered to be the Temple of Hercules (Journal of the Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies X, 1920, p. 20, cited by Brocklebank, loc. cit.)
Related Drawings
D130 Wilson, The Villa of Maecenas at Tivoli, The British Museum
Related Prints
E43 M.A. Rooker after Wilson, Twelve Etchings of Views in Italy - Villa of Maecenas at Tivoli, Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection, New Haven
E43A M.A. Rooker after Wilson, Villa of Mæcenas at Tivoli, The British Museum
E43B M.A. Rooker after Wilson, Villa of Mæcenas at Tivoli, The British Museum
E43C M.A. Rooker after Wilson, Villa of Mæcenas at Tivoli, Royal Academy of Arts, London
E43D M.A. Rooker after Wilson,Villa of Mæcenas at Tivoli, National Museum Wales, Cardiff
E43E M.A. Rooker after Wilson, Villa of Mæcenas at Tivoli, National Museum Wales, Cardiff
E88 Prior after Wilson, Ruins in Italy, National Museum Wales, Cardiff
Versions
See 'Links' tab
Related Paintings
Pendant P138E The West Belvedere at Hadrian's Villa, Tivoli, Magdalen College, Oxford
Critical commentary
The picture and its pendant are fairly rare examples of upright landscapes by Wilson
Previous Cat/Ref Nos
Sotheby's Reference No. 792
Bibliography
WGC, p. 201 under pl. 81a (3): H. Brocklebank, A Turn or two I'll walk to still my beating Mind: Commentary on a Private Collection, London, 1955, p. 53 repr.
Condition/Conservation
Relined and has layer of discoloured varnish