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    300 years
    "Sutton & Clements 1968" Is linked to these Works of Art
    of 58

    Studies and Designs done in Rome in the Year 1752, p. 78

    Studies and Designs done in Rome in the Year 1752, p. 78
    Studies and Designs done in Rome in the Year 1752, p. 78
    Studies and Designs done in Rome in the Year 1752, p. 78
    Victoria & Albert Museum, London
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    Artist
    Richard Wilson (1713/14-1782)
    Title
    Studies and Designs done in Rome in the Year 1752, p. 78
    Date
    1752
    Medium
    Black chalk on white paper
    Dimensions
    Metric: 188 x 130 mm (volume: 203 x 143 mm)
    Imperial: 8 x 5 5/8 in.
    Collection
    Victoria & Albert Museum, London. To license image, click here
    Accession Number
    E.3586-1922
    Wilson Online Reference
    D53/78
    Description
    View looking up a steep narrow staircase with figures on the steps, including two at the bottom in the foreground, with an archway and more steps seen to the right
    Provenance
    Bt about 1922 from Miss Alice J. Bowles
    Signature/inscription
    Inscribed in ink in archway, lower right: 'Entrance of | Herculanion'
    Related Prints
    E60/38 John Whessell Studies & Designs: Entrance at Herculanium, The British Museum
    Critical commentary
    Wilson's commitment to landscape made soon after his arrival in Rome in late 1751 initiated a sustained burst of activity as a draughtsman which was to gain momentum over the next few years. One major piece of evidence for the seriousness with which he took his new career is provided by the pages of this surviving sketchbook from 1752. Although it contains a number of rapid sketches from nature and the antique, most of its leaves are filled with imaginary essays in landscape design, usually incorporating classical themes such as antique ruins but presented in a rococo manner, 'using lazy curving forms and often capricious combinations of architectural motifs in a way that still recalls the works of Zuccarelli. From this time onwards, however, Wilson slowly but surely abandoned this fantastic notion of landscape art in favour of focusing his attention on the outside world. (Solkin 1982, p. 152)
    Bibliography
    Sutton & Clements 1968, vol. 2, p. 15, fig. 16; Solkin 1982, pp. 152, 157
    More Information
    Only two sketchbooks by Wilson have survived - the present one (D53-D53/81) and D280-D280/33 Italian Sketchbook - Drawings, 1754, Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection

    Work of Art

    Prints

    • John Whessell Studies & Designs: Entrance at Herculanium, The British Museum

    Documents

    • Denys Sutton & Ann Clements, An Italian Sketchbook by Richard Wilson, RA: Drawings made by the Artist in Rome and its Environs in the Year 1754
    This drawing is part of the "Italian Sketchbook Victoria & Albert Museum 1752" sketchbook
    View sketchbook pages
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