Cicero's Villa (On the Strada Nomentana - III)

Cicero's Villa (On the Strada Nomentana - III)
Cicero's Villa (On the Strada Nomentana - III)
Cicero's Villa (On the Strada Nomentana - III)
Koriyama City Museum of Art (Fukushima Prefecture, Japan)
title=Credit line
Artist
Richard Wilson (1713/14-1782)
Title
Cicero's Villa (On the Strada Nomentana - III)
Medium
Oil on Canvas
Dimensions
Metric: 95.4 x 141.2 cm
Imperial: 37 9/16 x 55 19/32 in.
Wilson Online Reference
P106A
Description
Rural scene looking past the ruins of 'Cicero's Villa' in Italy and out towards a lake and landscape. In the foreground, a woman and child rest beside the water's edge as a horse is led towards them. In the background, hills can be seen to the right and in the distance. The sun sets on the horizon, casting a haze over the landscape.
Exhibited
BI 1841 (122); BI 1843 (172 - A grand Italian Landscape with a ruined Temple, on a woody height above a river; a woman and child; and a man leading a horse in the foreground - lent by William Wells); Noortman & Brod, 18th and 19th Century British Paintings, New York, April - May, London, June - Jul;y 1983 (28)
Provenance
Earl of Kerry 1810; Mr Hodges of Bath; bt Scroope (150 gns); bt John Wells for William Wells of Redleaf (200 gns); his sale, Christie's, 20 May 1852, bt White; Spink and Co., London, 1931 (£350); Sir Robert Abdy, Bart; Private Collection, England; Christie's London, 19 November 1976 (159), bt P. & D. Colnaghi & Co., Ltd; Koriyama City Museum, 1988
Signature/inscription
Signed on the antique altar [?] lower left: RW [in ligature, the R reversed]
Subject
Cicero owned a number of villas in Italy but none is identifiable here and the title is probably fanciful.
Versions
See 'Links' tab
Critical commentary
W.G. Constable noted of P106 that the title, which has no authority, has led to confusion with the paintings of Cicero at his Villa (P162 & versions) and the Bay of Baiae from Posillipo with Cicero's Villa (P186). Also, because of the likeness of the ruin and its setting to those in the Strada Nomentana paintings (P104 & P105), the present composition too has been given that title. He rightly observed that the ruin is more like the remains of a tomb than a villa.
Bibliography
Farington Diary, vol. 10, p. 3643, 27 April 1810; WGC, p. 197, under pl. 75a
Updated by Compiler
2020-11-16 00:00:00