Hadrian's Villa

Hadrian's Villa
Hadrian's Villa
Hadrian's Villa
The Trustees of the British Museum
title=Credit line
Artist
Cecilia Lucy Brightwell (1811-1875) after Wilson
Title
Hadrian's Villa
Date
1825-47 (undated)
Medium
Etching pasted onto backing sheet
Dimensions
Metric: 170 x 115 mm
Imperial: 6 11/16 x 4 1/2 in.
Accession Number
1902,0514.533
Wilson Online Reference
E80
Description
A house is shown to the left built on top of Roman brick arches with two figures in the centre foreground. There are goats beneath the arch and a figure on the balcony above with washing hanging and a stream to the right.
Provenance
Purchased from James Reeve, Curator of Norwich Castle Museum (1851-1910), 1902
Signature/inscription
Inscribed in graphite on backing sheet, lower right and left: 'After Wilson' ' C.L. Brightwell'
Subject
The spectacular site of Tivoli was familiar to all travellers on the Grand Tour through the Roman poets, especially Virgil and Horace. It was also a favourite sketching-ground for artists from the 17th century onwards, a tradition that deeply influenced Wilson. Hadrian's Villa was a complex of palaces, baths, temples, libraries, state rooms and service quarters, which included the greatest Roman example of the Alexandrine garden, recreating a sacred landscape. Built as a retreat for the Emperor Hadrian (76-138 AD) it fell into ruins over the ages. Recently the precise location has been identified by Jonathan Yarker as the West Belvedere of the Villa with a farmhouse above built by Sebastiano Soliardi.
Related Drawings
D170 The West Belvedere at Hadrian's Villa, Tivoli, Glynn Vivian Art Gallery, Swansea
D170A Hadrian's Villa, Gloucester City Museum and Art Gallery
Versions
See 'Links' tab
A further impression is at The British Museum (1857,0520.153)
Related Paintings
P138 The West Belvedere at Hadrian's Villa, Tivoli (View in the Ruins of Hadrian's Villa, Tivoli), Tate, London and numerous other versions
Bibliography
R. K. Engen, Dictionary of Victorian Engravers, Print Publishers and their Works, 1979, p. 34
Link to WG Constable Archive Record
More Information
Lucy Brightwell (1811-1876) was a pupil of John Sell Cotman, an etcher of the Norwich School and writer. She is best known for her reproductive etchings after Rembrandt.
Updated by Compiler
2018-02-07 00:00:00