Study of a Tree

Study of a Tree
Study of a Tree
Study of a Tree
Private Collection, Washington D.C.
title=Credit line
Artist
Richard Wilson (1713/14-1782)
Title
Study of a Tree
Date
c. 1754 (undated)
Medium
Black chalk on blue-grey laid paper
Dimensions
Metric: 108 x 171 mm
Imperial: 4 1/4 x 6 3/4 in.
Collection
Private Collection, Washington D.C.
Wilson Online Reference
D405
Description
Two bare trees are shown criss-crossing in the left foreground one of which stretches over to the upper right corner. Below and behind is a river with a bridge, and in the right foreground, flowers.
Provenance
Private Collection, Washington D.C., 2019
Signature/inscription
Unsigned; no inscription
Collectors' marks
[1] Stamp lower left: Paul Sandby (Lugt 2112)
Related Prints
E18 William Woollett and John Browne after Wilson, Celadon and Amelia
Related Paintings
P123 Lake Avernus - II, Tate, London
Critical commentary
Most of Wilson's Italian drawings seem to have been made independently of his paintings, 'either as studies from nature, as ideas for compositions, as sketches of places visited, or as commissioned views.' (Ford 1951, p. 34). Nevertheless D405 is perhaps loosely connected with the genesis of P123 Lake Avernus - II, Tate, London and other versions or the missing Celadon and Amelia (cf. E18 and other impressions).
Condition/Conservation
Trimmed along the upper right horizontal edge