Tivoli: Temple of the Sibyl and the Campagna - II

Tivoli: Temple of the Sibyl and the Campagna - II
Tivoli: Temple of the Sibyl and the Campagna - II
Tivoli: Temple of the Sibyl and the Campagna - II
Private Collection, France
title=Credit line
Artist
Ascribed to Wilson
Title
Tivoli: Temple of the Sibyl and the Campagna - II
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
Metric: 42 x 70 cm
Imperial: 16 1/2 x 27 1/2 in.
Collection
Private Collection, France
Wilson Online Reference
P143B
Description
The town of Tivoli is seen from the north east across the gorge of the river Aniene (or 'Anio'), with the Roman Campagna and the city of Rome itself in the distance. To the left, on the cliff edge, is a small cluster of ancient buildings. These include the circular Roman Temple of Vesta, and the rectangular Temple of the Tiburtine Sibyl.
Provenance
Purchased from Beazor, 78-80 Regent Street, Cambridge, c.1967
Signature/inscription
Unsigned; no inscription
Techniques and materials
Some of the facture (clouds, figures, trees in right middle ground) is relatively crude and approximate, while other parts are suspiciously precise, thinly painted and 1790s-looking (notably the buildings on the left of the temple).
Labels
[1] Punched tape label, inverted, lower left.: YTL FEB 67
[2] Label on stretcher lower centre right obscured by taping
Subject
Tivoli is about 20 kilometres from Rome, on the lower slopes of the Sabine Hills. Its finest ruin, the so-called Temple of Vesta, is a circular building dating from the 1st century BC. Situated dramatically above a precipice and cascade, it has been admired by artists since the 16th century because of its picturesque location and became a famous attraction for Grand Tourists.
Related Drawings
D217 Tivoli with the Temples of Vesta and the Sibyl and the Grand Cascade, National Museum Wales, Cardiff
D280/10 Italian Sketchbook - Drawings pp. 10(v) and 11(r): The Temples of Vesta and the Sibyl at Tivoli, Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection, New Haven
Versions
See 'Links' tab
Related Paintings
P45 The Temple of the Sibyl and the Campagna, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin
Critical commentary
The compiler believes this work to be either a late ' breeder' by Wilson or, more likely, a slightly later contemporary copy. W.G. Constable, however, thought it to be autograph, though it came to his attention too late to be published.
Link to WG Constable Archive Record
More Information
Until the later C18 the circular temple had been called the |Temple of the Sybil because of the site's ancient connection with the Tiburtine Sybil. It was then demonstrated by Giuseppe Vasi and others to have been a vestal temple and the small adjacent church containing some ancient elements was assumed to have been the Temple of Sybil.
Condition/Conservation
Verso measurements through taping: 37.5 x 65.5 cm (14 3/4 x 25 3/4 in.) Cleaned by Lindsay, Fulham after purchase, and relined.
Updated by Compiler
2019-10-09 00:00:00