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    300 years
    "Ford, Richard" Is linked to these Works of Art
    of 43

    Loreto with the Basilica on the Left

    Loreto with the Basilica on the Left
    Loreto with the Basilica on the Left
    Loreto with the Basilica on the Left
    Private Collection, England / Photograph by John Hammond
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    Artist
    Richard Wilson (1713/14-1782)
    Title
    Loreto with the Basilica on the Left
    Date
    1751 (undated)
    Medium
    Red chalk
    Dimensions
    Metric: 185 x 241 mm
    Imperial: 8 1/8 x 9 1/2 in.
    Collection
    Private Collection, England
    Accession Number
    RF70
    Wilson Online Reference
    D58
    Description
    On the far left is the Basilica or Chiesa della Casa Santa, built over the remains of the Holy House of the Virgin and an important pilgrimage site. The height of the town (127 metres or 417 feet above sea-level) is indicated by the artist's viewpoint from some distance north, towards the River Musone.
    Exhibited
    Exeter 1946 (19 - An Italian Town); London, Cardiff and New Haven, 1982-83 (19)
    Provenance
    William Lock of Norbury; his sale, Sotheby's, London 3-7 May 1821; Marianne Ford; thence by descent
    Signature/inscription
    Unsigned; no inscription
    Techniques and materials
    Red chalk was rarely used by Wilson for the drawings he made on the journey from Venice to Rome
    Subject
    Loreto is situated on the Adriatic coast of Italy 22 km southeast of Ancona. Since the 13th century it has been a major centre for pilgrims on account of the Holy House of the Virgin, believed to have been miraculously transported from Nazareth by angels in 1294. The basilica was built over its remains. Between 1750 and 1754, the richly decorated campanile designed by Vanvitelli was under construction.
    Critical commentary
    This is one of only a small number of the drawings executed in red chalk during the journey from Venice to Rome that Wilson made in the company of William Lock.
    Bibliography
    Walpole Society 1998-I, p. 70, RF 70; Solkin 1982, p. 156
    Condition/Conservation
    Badly spotted, especially in the upper section

    Exhibitions

    • London, Tate Gallery, Cardiff, National Museum of Wales, and New Haven, Conn., Yale Center for British Art, 3 November 1982 - 19 June 1983
    • Exeter, Royal Albert Memorial Museum, 7 March - 5 April 1946

    Biographies

    • William Lock 'of Norbury' (1732-1810)
    • Richard Ford (1796-1858)
    • Sir Brinsley Ford (1908-1999)
    • Marianne Booth, Lady Ford (1767-1849)
    • Sir Francis Clare Ford (1828-1899)
    • John G. Ford (-1917)

    Documents

    • David Solkin, Richard Wilson: The Landscape of Reaction
    • Brinsley Ford and other authors, The Ford Collection
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