A Rock Dwelling

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A Rock Dwelling
A Rock Dwelling
A Rock Dwelling
Private Collection, England / Photograph by John Hammond
title=Credit line
Artist
Richard Wilson (1713/14-1782)
Title
A Rock Dwelling
Date
c.1754 (undated)
Medium
Black chalk
Dimensions
Metric: 115 x 202 mm
Imperial: 4 1/2 x 7 15/16 in.
Collection
Private Collection, England
Accession Number
RF104
Wilson Online Reference
D296
Description
Rising towards the right is a cliff-face dotted with openings of rock dwellings. A woman and child stand in one of these at ground level, perhaps communicating with a figure in the left foreground.
Provenance
William Lock of Norbury; his sale, Sotheby's, London 3-7 May 1821; Ford family; by descent
Signature/inscription
Signed lower left: R.W.f
No inscription
Subject
The setting may be the sassi in the barren town of Matera, Basilicata, southern Italy. Lying between Calabria and Puglia the area would have been accessible to Wilson from Naples. These rock dwellings were in his day places of abject poverty but since 1993 have been a World Heritage Site.
Bibliography
Walpole Society 1998-I, p. 73, RF104
Condition/Conservation
Enclosed in a lightly drawn chalk border
Updated by Compiler
2016-10-03 00:00:00