Capriccio Landscape near Rome

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Capriccio Landscape near Rome
Capriccio Landscape near Rome
Capriccio Landscape near Rome
Christie's Images 2024
title=Credit line
Artist
Richard Wilson (1713/14-1782)
Title
Capriccio Landscape near Rome
Date
c.1752-54
Medium
Graphite and black chalk with stump on grey prepared paper
Dimensions
Metric: 197 x 197 mm in circular format
Imperial: 7 3/4 x 7 3/4 in. in circular format
Collection
Private Collection, USA
Wilson Online Reference
D422
Exhibited
Boston, Museum of Fine Arts, loan from W.G. Constable.
Northampton, Smith College Museum of Art, loan
Provenance
William Lock of Norbury; Sotheby’s, London, 3 May 1821 (part of lot 386); William Esdaile (1758-1837), London (L. 2617); Christie’s, London, 19-21 March 1838 (possibly lot 220, 257 or 267); Charles Fairfax Murray; Sir Robert Witt (1872-1952); given by him to W.G. Constable; by descent; Christie’s, New York, 11 January 1989 (209); Private Collection, New York; Christie's New York, 1 February 2024 (166)
Signature/inscription
Inscribed lower left corner: 101; lower right corner: WE
Verso inscriptions
[1] Lower centre, black ink: 'Wilson'
[2] Lower left, black ink: '1821 WE Lock's sale N.101.'
[3] Centre, pencil: 761
Related Drawings
D196 Landscape with Figures, The Courtauld Gallery, London
D197 Coast Landscape, The Courtauld Gallery, London
D249 Landscape with the Crater of Vesuvius, Royal Academy of Arts, London
D250 Landscape with Vesuvius, Royal Academy of Arts, London
D338 A Skirmish in Rowing-Boats in the Bay of Baiae, an Island beyond, Private Collection
Critical commentary
D422 belongs to a group of five similar small drawings of Italian subjects in circular format dating from the early and mid-1750s. Three of these originally belonged to Wilson's patron and friend, William Lock of Norbury and all were later acquired by the prominent collector, William Esdaile (see Related Drawings). They were possibly part of a larger commissioned series and perhaps envisaged as designs for book illustrations.