Composition: Classical Buidings and an Obelisk

Composition: Classical Buidings and an Obelisk
Composition: Classical Buidings and an Obelisk
Composition: Classical Buidings and an Obelisk
Image courtesy of the Samuel Courtauld Trust, The Courtauld Gallery, London
title=Credit line
Artist
Richard Wilson (1713/14-1782)
Title
Composition: Classical Buidings and an Obelisk
Date
c.1751-52 (undated)
Medium
Black chalk heightened with white on grey paper
Dimensions
Metric: 165 x 165 mm
Imperial: 6 1/2 x 6 1/2 in.
Collection
Location Unknown
Wilson Online Reference
D79
Description
In the foreground are two seated figures, one with a fishing rod. Across a river spanned by a bridge, of which two arches are visible, are seen two classical buildings, one domed, one with a pediment. To the right of them is an obelisk, and behind them a tower and an amphitheatre.
Exhibited
Exeter 1946 (2 - View of a Town); Birmingham 1948-49 (96); London 1949 (95); Arts Council 1951 (212)
Provenance
William Lock of Norbury; his sale, Sotheby's, London 3-7 May 1821; Marianne [?] Ford; thence by descent to Mrs Richard Ford; Sotheby's 14 March 1947 (88); Villiers David
Signature/inscription
Unsigned; no inscription
Critical commentary
As noted by Ford, the drawing was probably intended as a capriccio rather than an actual view.
Bibliography
Ford 1951, pp. 31, 56, pl. 36; Festival 1951, pp. 67-68