Landscape: A Pool of Water at the Foot of a Mountain (Hermits by a…

Landscape: A Pool of Water at the Foot of a Mountain (Hermits by a…
Landscape: A Pool of Water at the Foot of a Mountain (Hermits by a…
Landscape: A Pool of Water at the Foot of a Mountain (Hermits by a…
Victoria & Albert Museum, London
title=Credit line
Artist
Richard Wilson (1713/14-1782)
Title
Landscape: A Pool of Water at the Foot of a Mountain (Hermits by a Pool) (St Mary Magdalene)
Date
c.1765? (undated)
Medium
Black chalk, washed with Indian ink, heightened with white on thin brown paper laid down on card
Dimensions
Metric: 188 x 240 mm
Imperial: 7 3/16 x 9 7/16 in.
Accession Number
DYCE.640
Wilson Online Reference
D366
Description
By a pool of water at the foot of a mountain a large mass of rock occupies the centre of the composition. To the right in the shade, a figure, perhaps Mary Magdalene, lies prostrate before a cross on a rock and a skull behind it. Above her tiny figures make their way up a steep diagonal path.The scene is bordered by a double outline.
Provenance
Bequeathed by the Revd Alexander Dyce 1869
Signature/inscription
[1] Inscribed lower right corner in black ink: 640
[2] Inscribed lower right corner outside border in graphite: 277
Collectors' marks
[1] Recto, lower right corner: unidentified stamp
Related Drawings
D364 Hermits by a Pool, Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
D365 Study of a Boulder, Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
Critical commentary
Constable suggested that D364, D365 and D366 might be connected with a missing painting exhibited by Wilson at the Royal Academy in 1775 (347), An Hermitage at Marino.
Previous Cat/Ref Nos
277; Box DG7
Bibliography
DYCE COLLECTION. A Catalogue of the Paintings, Miniatures, Drawings, Engravings, Rings and Miscellaneous Objects Bequeathed by The Reverend Alexander Dyce, London : South Kensington Museum, 1874, p. 95; WGC, p. 230, pl. 124c
Condition/Conservation
The paper is ragged at the edges but the overall condition is good.