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Ponte Vigo, Chioggia
Photograph Courtesy of Mallams
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Richard Wilson (1713/14-1782)
Ponte Vigo, Chioggia
1751 (undated)
Black chalk on laid paper
152 x 202 mm
6 x 8 in.
Private Collection, UK
D22
London, Cardiff & New Haven, 1982-83 (16)
William Lock of Norbury; his sale, Sotheby's, London 3-7 May 1821; Marianne Booth, Lady Ford or her son, Richard Ford (1796-1858); thence by descent; Mallams Cheltenham, 21 January 2021 (118), where acquired by present owner
Unsigned; no inscription
[1] On backboard of frame, modern handwritten label: PONTE VIGO AT CHIOGGIA
[2] On backboard of frame, printed and typed exhibition label: London, Cardiff and New Haven 1982-83 [Tate Gallery]
The town of Chioggia is situated on a small island at the southern entrance to the Lagoon of Venice about 25 kilometres (16 miles) south of the city. Its political allegiance is indicated by the prominence of the Lion of St Mark on the bridge. The ornate Ponte di Vigo itself spans La Vena Canal - the equivalent of the Rialto Bridge in Venice. It was built in 1685.
Wilson travelled from Venice to Rome with William Lock, in his carriage, in late 1751. Chioggia was the first major stopping-point on their journey. As noted by David Solkin, if Wilson was now beginning to focus on landscape, his interest in figures evident here suggests that portraiture still remained an important concern.
Ford 1951, pp. 51-52, pl. 3; Solkin 1982, p. 155