The Temple of Peace, Rome

The Temple of Peace, Rome
The Temple of Peace, Rome
The Temple of Peace, Rome
The Trustees of the British Museum
title=Credit line
Artist
Richard Wilson (1713/14-1782)
Title
The Temple of Peace, Rome
Date
c.1752-54 (undated)
Medium
Black and white chalk on buff paper
Dimensions
Metric: 268 x 406 mm
Imperial: 10 5/8 x 16 in.
Accession Number
1859,0709.112
Wilson Online Reference
D104
Description
The view extends from under the shadow of a wide arch of the temple to villas and gardens lying in the sunlight beyond. A great white cloud can be seen in the sky. Two women and a child are in the foreground with other figures further off and a beggar by the wall of the temple on the left.
Exhibited
British Museum 1936 Canaletto to Constable (unnumbered); BM 1969 (107)
Provenance
Purchased from A.E. Evans & Sons, 403 Strand, London, July 1859
Signature/inscription
Unsigned; no inscription
Verso inscriptions
Verso invisible - laid down
Subject
The Temple of Peace was the common name for the forum built by the Emperor Vespasian. It was a favourite with artists of the time, including Piranesi.
Related Prints
E32 Michael Angelo Rooker after Wilson Temple of Peace, 1776, Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection, New Haven and other impressions
Related Works by Other Artists
Francis Towne Roman Landscape, watercolour, 1795, Gorringe's Auctions, Lewes, 25 February 2015 (1173)
Critical commentary
Perhaps drawn on the spot. As noted by Bethany McIntyre and Charlotte Topsfield, Wilson's adoption of an unconventional viewpoint beneath the wide coffered arch allowed him to create sharp contrasts between the foreground shadows and the sunlit gardens beyond. In style and format D104 is closely comparable with the series of drawings of Roman views executed by Wilson for Lord Dartmouth in 1754.
Bibliography
Binyon 11
Condition/Conservation
Some staining