The West Belvedere at Hadrian's Villa, Tivoli (Hadrian's Villa…

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The West Belvedere at Hadrian's Villa, Tivoli (Hadrian's Villa…
The West Belvedere at Hadrian's Villa, Tivoli (Hadrian's Villa…
The West Belvedere at Hadrian's Villa, Tivoli (Hadrian's Villa…
Manchester City Galleries
title=Credit line
Artist
Richard Wilson (1713/14-1782)
Title
The West Belvedere at Hadrian's Villa, Tivoli (Hadrian's Villa, near Tivoli)
Date
1763-65 (undated)
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
Metric: 42.8 x 52.9 cm
Imperial: 16 7/8 x 20 13/16 in.
Accession Number
1917.175
Wilson Online Reference
P139
Description
Rural scene depicting Hadrian's Villa near Tivoli in Italy. Viewed from the left bank of a river, ruined arches and a small stone building with pitched roof can be seen in the foreground. A figure stands upon the arches beside the dwelling, leaning over wooden railings from which washing is hanging. Below two figures rest beside a track running down the bank towards the river. The view from the riverbank extends across a wooded landscape towards the hills in distance. The sky is deep blue with scattered clouds.
Exhibited
Manchester 1925 (14); Manchester City Art Gallery, British Art 1934 (64); Southampton, University Collection, 1936; Birmingham 1948-49 (40); London 1949 (39); Paris 1953 (91 - Sur la Strada Nomentana); Manchester City Art Gallery John Constable, 1959 (7); Welsh Arts Council Richard Wilson, Painter, 1969 (8, repr.); London, David Carritt Ltd, Some Masterpieces from Manchester City Art Gallery, June-July 1983 (28)
Provenance
James Thomas Blair, Whalley House, Whalley Range, Manchester; James Blair Bequest, 1917
Signature/inscription
Unsigned; no inscription
Subject
Hadrian's Villa was begun during the emperor's reign in 125 AD and completed ten years later. It was planned so as to reproduce on one site all the famous buildings that the emperor had seen in Greece and Egypt. Later it was plundered by invaders and not excavated and restored until the Renaissance.
Related Drawings
D170 The West Belvedere at Hadrian's Villa, Tivoli, Glynn Vivian Art Gallery, Swansea
Versions
See 'Links' tab
Bibliography
Waterhouse 1953, p. 176, pl. 141B; WGC, p. 202, pl. 80b; Manchester City Art Gallery, Concise Catalogue of British Paintings, 1976, vol. 1, p. 204
Link to WG Constable Archive Record
Condition/Conservation
Kate Lowry has noted: Appears to be in excellent condition. A very bright, sparkling picture in fluid style; of particular note are the shadow of the roof beams cast on the wall of the building, the washing on the balcony rail and the foreground figures. Typical of Wilson is the dragging of the sky paint up to the edges of the building and down to the horizon.