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    300 years
    Return to "London, Cardiff and New Haven 1982-83" is linked to these Works 146 items
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    'Il Mascherone…

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    'Il Mascherone…
    'Il Mascherone…
    'Il Mascherone…
    The Art Institute of Chicago, The Leonora Gurley Memorial
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    Artist
    Richard Wilson (1713/14-1782)
    Title
    'Il Mascherone,' a Rocaille Fountain in the Grounds of the Villa Borghese
    Date
    c. 1754 (undated)
    Medium
    Black chalk over graphite heightened with white chalk on blue laid paper, laid down on card
    Dimensions
    Metric: 200 x 235 mm
    Imperial: 7 7/8 x 9 1/4 in.
    Collection
    The Art Institute of Chicago, The Leonora Gurley Memorial Collection. To license image, click here.
    Accession Number
    1922.1672
    Wilson Online Reference
    D283
    Description
    Before a half-drawn classical building the right half of a rocky fountain and grotesque colossal head are shown. From the open mouth of the latter water pours down. A small river god lies in front of this cascade. At the lower left is a simplified study of a double-headed bird.
    Exhibited
    London, Cardiff and New Haven, 1982-83 (42)
    Provenance
    Puttick & Simpson, 17 February 1916; Leonora Gurley; acquired by the Art Institute, 1922
    Signature/inscription
    Unsigned; no inscription
    Techniques and materials
    The detailed depiction of one half of a building or feature only was a well-tried convention of contemporary architectural draughtsmen
    Collectors' marks
    [1] Recto lower right: Leonora Gurley
    Verso inscriptions
    [1] Upper centre, ink in reverse from recto and vertical, an illegible initial and name
    [2] Centre, stamped: LEONORA HALL GURLEY / MEMORIAL COLLECTION
    [3] Lower centre, sale stamp: BOUGHT FEB. 17, 1916 / PUTTICK & SIMPSON
    [4] Lower centre, pencil: Richard Wilson. Study of a Fountain 7/6
    [5] Lower left, black ink: 22.1672
    [6] Lower left, pencil: ?81
    [7] Lower left, red crayon: 15 [within a circle]
    Subject
    The subject is a waterspout known as 'il mascherone' (the grotesque mask'), which stood in the grounds of the Villa Borghese from the early 17th century until its demolition in 1790.
    Related Drawings
    The Rocaille Fountain called 'Il Mascherone' in the Villa Borghese Gardens, 1754 or 1755, location unknown, formerly on the London art market
    Versions
    See 'Links' tab
    Critical commentary
    This is the first preparatory design that is known for any of the drawings made by Wilson for the 2nd Earl of Dartmouth. There are apparent discrepancies of scale between the foreground river god, the fountain head and the architecture which, together with its unfinished state indicate the work's role as a first study, taken on the spot. The final drawing has been lost relatively recently.
    Bibliography
    Solkin 1978, p. 404, pl. 15b; Solkin 1982, p. 167
    Condition/Conservation
    Discoloured round all four edges, presumably from the glue used to lay it down.

    Exhibitions

    • London, Tate Gallery, Cardiff, National Museum of Wales, and New Haven, Conn., Yale Center for British Art, 3 November 1982 - 19 June 1983

    Documents

    • David Solkin, Richard Wilson: The Landscape of Reaction
    • David Solkin, 'Some New Light on the Drawings of Richard Wilson'
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