The Circus of Caracalla, Rome

The Circus of Caracalla, Rome
The Circus of Caracalla, Rome
The Circus of Caracalla, Rome
Photograph by Matthew Hollow
title=Credit line
Artist
Richard Wilson (1713/14-1782)
Title
The Circus of Caracalla, Rome
Date
c. 1754 (undated)
Medium
Black chalk, heightened with white, on grey paper
Dimensions
Metric: 266 x 407 mm
Imperial: 10 1/2 x 16 in.
Collection
Private Collection, England
Accession Number
RF89
Wilson Online Reference
D273B
Description
View of an arena, framed by a massive stone arch, from which hang creepers. In the left foreground are two figures, one seated with a staff over his shoulder, and a dog. To the right of this group is a boulder and there is a large fragment of a stone frieze at the right base of the arch. Beyond the arena are several buildings and trees. The view is towards the west on what is currently the edge of the Via Appia Pignatelli. To the left in the middle distance, stands the round tower of the mausoleum of Caecilia Metella - one of the most imposing classical remains on the Via Appia Antica. Martin Postle has noted that in actuality it is visible only when one stands before the arch.
Exhibited
Exeter 1946 (17); London 1925 (83)
Provenance
Lady [Marianne] Ford; thence by descent
Signature/inscription
Unsigned; no inscription
Verso inscriptions
[1] Marianne Ford's hand: Marianne Ford
[2] Marianne Ford's hand: Circus of Caracalla Rome
Subject
The Circus of Caracalla was the eighteenth-century name for what is now known as the Circus of Maxentius. It was part of a palace complex flanking the Via Appia Antica built by the Emperor Maxentius in 306-12 AD.
Related Prints
E33 Edward Rooker after Wilson, Circus of Caracalla (from Twelve Original Views in Italy), Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection, New Haven
E33A Edward Rooker after Wilson, Circus of Caracalla (from Twelve Original Views in Italy), The British Museum
E33B Edward Rooker after Wilson, Circus at Caracalla (from Twelve Original Views in Italy), Royal Academy of Arts, London
Bibliography
Ford 1951, p. 60 under pl. 57; Solkin 1978, p. 405, pl. 16b; Walpole 1998-I, p.72, cat. RF89