Studies & Designs: View of a Bridge with Castel Sant'Angelo behind

Studies & Designs: View of a Bridge with Castel Sant'Angelo behind
Studies & Designs: View of a Bridge with Castel Sant'Angelo behind
Studies & Designs: View of a Bridge with Castel Sant'Angelo behind
National Museum Wales, Cardiff
title=Credit line
Artist
John Whessell (c.1760-1806) after Wilson
Title
Studies & Designs: View of a Bridge with Castel Sant'Angelo behind
Date
Published 1811
Medium
Soft-ground etching on India laid paper (proof)
Dimensions
Metric: 97 x 144 mm
Imperial: 3 13/16 x 5 5/8 in.
Accession Number
NMW A 10947
Wilson Online Reference
E60/18A
Description
View of a bridge with Castel Sant'Angelo behind, a boat with fisherman in front and a man holding a gun sitting under large trees in the left foreground - all within an etched rectangular border
Provenance
Thomas Henry Thomas Bequest 1916
Signature/inscription
Lettered below the image: Wilson del. | Whessell S
Mount inscriptions
[1] Lower centre, pencil: 21
Subject
The Castel Sant'Angelo, seen in the distance, was initially commissioned by the Roman Emperor Hadrian as a mausoleum for himself and his family. Constructed on the right bank of the Tiber from 134-139 AD, the building, once the tallest in Rome, was later used by the popes as a fortress and castle. According to legend the Archangel Michael appeared above it, sheathing his sword as a sign of the end of the plague of 590 AD.
Related Drawings
D53/21 Studies and Designs done in Rome in the Year 1752, p. 21, Victoria & Albert Museum, London
D119 The Castle of Sant' Angelo, Rome, Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
D119A The Castle of St Angelo, Rome, Tate, London
Related Prints
E60/17A Studies & Designs: Castle of St Angelo, National Museum Wales, Cardiff
Versions
See 'Links' tab
Critical commentary
From a set of small soft-ground etchings by Whessell made after Wilson's drawings in a sketchbook at the Victoria & Albert Museum (D53-D53/81). The present print is taken from p.21 (D53/21). In 1811 the etchings were published by the Oxford-based publisher, Robert Archer in more than one format.
Bibliography
Archer 1811, p. 21
Updated by Compiler
2017-09-28 00:00:00