Outlet of the Emissario

Outlet of the Emissario
Outlet of the Emissario
Outlet of the Emissario
The Trustees of the British Museum
title=Credit line
Artist
Ascribed to Wilson
Title
Outlet of the Emissario
Date
c.1752-56 (undated)
Medium
Black and white chalk on pink-buff paper
Dimensions
Metric: 261 x 397 mm
Imperial: 10 1/4 x 15 5/8 in.
Accession Number
Oo,5.5
Wilson Online Reference
NWD107
Description
A hillside of boulder and brushwood, in which appears the mouth of a passage in the rock towards the left. Over this a tall arch has been built, from which a stream flows down into the right foreground. Two figures stand near the outlet.
Provenance
Bequeathed by Richard Payne Knight, 1824
Signature/inscription
Unsigned; inscribed in ink, not by Wilson, lower left: the Uscito of the | Emissario 3 Miles | from the Lake which Uscito Emptys | itself into ye Liris now | Gariglione at Capestrello
Verso inscriptions
Verso invisible - the primary support is laid down
Subject
The tunnel was made by the Romans in AD 52 in order to drain the Lacus Fucius
Critical commentary
Pace the setting and the provenance the drawing style argues against Wilson himself as the artist, nor is the inscription in his hand. This is one of several drawings of the Emissario and its environs by the same hand (see also NWD108 Entrance to the Cuniculo and NWD108/1 The First Entrance to the Cuniculo, both in the British Museum and with the same provenance).
Bibliography
Binyon 30
Condition/Conservation
Good condition