Study for The Wilderness in St James's Park (Stream and Willows)

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Study for The Wilderness in St James's Park (Stream and Willows)
Study for The Wilderness in St James's Park (Stream and Willows)
Study for The Wilderness in St James's Park (Stream and Willows)
The Trustees of the British Museum
title=Credit line
Artist
Richard Wilson (1713/14-1782)
Title
Study for The Wilderness in St James's Park (Stream and Willows)
Date
c.1770 (undated)
Medium
Black chalk and stump, touched with white, on lilac-buff paper
Dimensions
Metric: 211 x 350 mm
Imperial: 8 1/4 x 13 3/4 in.
Accession Number
1881,0212.9
Wilson Online Reference
D373
Description
A stream winds into the right foreground, with pollarded willows and other trees on either bank and a cottage behind.
Exhibited
Bremen Kunsthalle, Retour à la Nature, November 1977 - January 1978 (214)
Provenance
Donated by John Deffett Francis, 1881
Signature/inscription
Unsigned; no inscription
Verso inscriptions
Verso invisible - paper laid down
Related Drawings
D372 Woodland Scene , Tate, London
Related Paintings
P182 Wilderness in St James's Park Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection
P182A View of the Wilderness in St James's Park, Private Collection, England
Critical commentary
David Solkin has commented that by blending chalk contours with extensive areas of stump and occasional touches of white, Wilson has succeeded in creating a broad flow of chiaroscuro that envelops all particular details. There is a strong imprint from the Netherlandish tradition notably the woodland interiors and chalk landscapes of Anthonie Waterloo (1609-90) and possibly Gainsborough in this late drawing.
Previous Cat/Ref Nos
410
Bibliography
Binyon 9; Solkin 1978, p. 410, pl. 26b
Condition/Conservation
Some creasing and badly rubbed