The Bridge of Augustus at Rimini

The Bridge of Augustus at Rimini
The Bridge of Augustus at Rimini
The Bridge of Augustus at Rimini
Private Collection, England / Photograph by John Hammond
title=Credit line
Artist
Richard Wilson (1713/14-1782)
Title
The Bridge of Augustus at Rimini
Date
1751 (undated)
Medium
Black chalk
Dimensions
Metric: 190 x 267 mm
Imperial: 7 1/2 x 10 1/4 in.
Collection
Private Collection, England
Accession Number
RF67
Wilson Online Reference
D41A
Description
Three figures appear on the bridge with another figure perhaps washing clothes under the right arch. Another figure is seen at a greater distance through the left arch. Buildings appear in the distance beyond both arches.
Exhibited
Exeter 1946 (38 - Two Arches of a Stone Bridgew); Gainsborough House 2014 (unnumbered)
Provenance
William Lock of Norbury; his sale, Sotheby's, London 3-7 May 1821; Marianne Ford; thence by descent
Signature/inscription
Unsigned; no inscription
Subject
The Ponte d'Augusto, built by the Emperor Augustus, leads out of Rimini near the triumphal arch (also dedicated to him), across the River Marecchia, to the ancient Via Emilia linking Rimini and Bologna. (Cf. D43 The Arch of Augustus at Rimini, Private Collection, England).
Related Drawings
D43 The Arch of Augustus at Rimini, Private Collection, England
D46 The Bridge of Augustus at Rimini, Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge
Related Prints
E38 Joseph Farington, Twelve Etchings of Views in Italy - Bridge of Augustus at Rimini, 1776, Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection, New Haven and other impressions
Versions
See 'Links' tab
Related Paintings
P82 Private Collection, Yorkshire
P82A Dunedin Art Gallery, New Zealand
P82C Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
Critical commentary
This is one of a series of drawings made by Wilson during his journey from Venice to Rome in the winter of 1751 in the company of William Lock and Thomas Jenkins. Another drawing of the bridge showing three arches is at Tate, London (see 'Related Drawings'). Lock acquired both drawings from artist. Wilson painted several versions of the view himself and it was repeated by others.
Bibliography
Ford 1951, p. 52 under pl. 7; WGC, pp. 211-12, pl. 99a; Wapole Society 1998-I, p. 70, RF67