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Studies and Designs done in Rome in the Year 1752, p. 6
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D53/6 - Studies and Designs done in Rome in the Year 1752, p. 6
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Studies and Designs done in Rome in the Year 1752, p. 6
Credit Line
Victoria & Albert Museum, London
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Artist
Richard Wilson (1713/14-1782)
Title
Studies and Designs done in Rome in the Year 1752, p. 6
Date
1752
Medium
Black chalk on white paper
Dimensions
188 x 130 mm (volume: 203 x 143 mm)
Dimensions
8 x 5 5/8 in.
Details
Links
Collection
Victoria & Albert Museum, London. To license image, click here
Accession Number
E.3586-1922
Wilson Online Reference
D53/6
Description
View of a ruined building with a spire seen above the remains of a wall, visible in the middle distance. Two figures rest amongst classical rubble in the left foreground before a portico.
View of a ruined building with a spire seen above the remains of a wall, visible in the middle distance. Two figures rest amongst classical rubble in the left foreground before a portico.
Exhibited
Provenance
Bt about 1922 from Miss Alice J. Bowles
Bt about 1922 from Miss Alice J. Bowles
Signature/inscription
Techniques and materials
Collectors' marks
Verso inscriptions
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Labels
Subject
The subject may be an elegiac contemplation of past architectural glories
The subject may be an elegiac contemplation of past architectural glories
Related Subjects
Related Drawings
Related Prints
E60/11 <i>Studies & Designs: View of a ruined Building with a Spire seen above the Remains of a Wall</i>,. The British Museum E60/11A <i>View of a ruined Building with a Spire seen above the Remains of a Wall</i>, National Museum Wales, Cardiff
E60/11
Studies & Designs: View of a ruined Building with a Spire seen above the Remains of a Wall
,. The British Museum
E60/11A
View of a ruined Building with a Spire seen above the Remains of a Wall
, National Museum Wales, Cardiff
Versions
Related Paintings
Related Works by Other Artists
Critical commentary
Wilson's commitment to landscape made soon after his arrival in Rome in late 1751 initiated a sustained burst of activity as a draughtsman which was to gain momentum over the next few years. One major piece of evidence for the seriousness with which he took his new career is provided by the pages of this surviving sketchbook from 1752. Although it contains a number of rapid sketches from nature and the antique, most of its leaves are filled with imaginary essays in landscape design, usually incorporating classical themes such as antique ruins but presented in a rococo manner, 'using lazy curving forms and often capricious combinations of architectural motifs in a way that still recalls the works of Zuccarelli. From this time onwards, however, Wilson slowly but surely abandoned this fantastic notion of landscape art in favour of focusing his attention on the outside world. (Solkin 1982, p. 152)
Wilson's commitment to landscape made soon after his arrival in Rome in late 1751 initiated a sustained burst of activity as a draughtsman which was to gain momentum over the next few years. One major piece of evidence for the seriousness with which he took his new career is provided by the pages of this surviving sketchbook from 1752. Although it contains a number of rapid sketches from nature and the antique, most of its leaves are filled with imaginary essays in landscape design, usually incorporating classical themes such as antique ruins but presented in a rococo manner, 'using lazy curving forms and often capricious combinations of architectural motifs in a way that still recalls the works of Zuccarelli. From this time onwards, however, Wilson slowly but surely abandoned this fantastic notion of landscape art in favour of focusing his attention on the outside world. (Solkin 1982, p. 152)
Previous Cat/Ref Nos
Bibliography
Sutton & Clements 1968, pp. 15-16, fig. 18; Solkin 1982, pp. 152, 157
Sutton & Clements 1968, pp. 15-16, fig. 18; Solkin 1982, pp. 152, 157
Link to WG Constable Archive Record
Location featured in work
More Information
Only two sketchbooks by Wilson have survived - the present one (D53-D53/81) and D280-D280/33 <i>Italian Sketchbook - Drawings</i>, 1754, Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection
Only two sketchbooks by Wilson have survived - the present one (D53-D53/81) and D280-D280/33
Italian Sketchbook - Drawings
, 1754, Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection
Condition/Conservation
Illustrations of the Work
Updated by Compiler
19/09/2017
19/09/2017
Work of Art
Prints
Studies & Designs: View of a ruined Building with a Spire seen above the Remains of a Wall
,. The British Museum
View of a ruined Building with a Spire seen above the Remains of a Wall
, National Museum Wales, Cardiff
Exhibitions
Biographies
Documents
Denys Sutton & Ann Clements,
An Italian Sketchbook by Richard Wilson, RA: Drawings made by the Artist in Rome and its Environs in the Year 1754
This drawing is part of the "Italian Sketchbook Victoria & Albert Museum 1752" sketchbook
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