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    300 years
    Return to "BM 1969" is linked to these Works 3 items
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    The Temple of Peace, Rome

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    The Temple of Peace, Rome
    The Temple of Peace, Rome
    The Temple of Peace, Rome
    The Trustees of the British Museum
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    Artist
    Richard Wilson (1713/14-1782)
    Title
    The Temple of Peace, Rome
    Date
    c.1752-54 (undated)
    Medium
    Black and white chalk on buff paper
    Dimensions
    Metric: 268 x 406 mm
    Imperial: 10 5/8 x 16 in.
    Collection
    The British Museum. To license image, click here
    Accession Number
    1859,0709.112
    Wilson Online Reference
    D104
    Description
    The view extends from under the shadow of a wide arch of the temple to villas and gardens lying in the sunlight beyond. A great white cloud can be seen in the sky. Two women and a child are in the foreground with other figures further off and a beggar by the wall of the temple on the left.
    Exhibited
    British Museum 1936 Canaletto to Constable (unnumbered); BM 1969 (107)
    Provenance
    Purchased from A.E. Evans & Sons, 403 Strand, London, July 1859
    Signature/inscription
    Unsigned; no inscription
    Verso inscriptions
    Verso invisible - laid down
    Subject
    The Temple of Peace was the common name for the forum built by the Emperor Vespasian. It was a favourite with artists of the time, including Piranesi.
    Related Prints
    E32 Michael Angelo Rooker after Wilson Temple of Peace, 1776, Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection, New Haven and other impressions
    Related Works by Other Artists
    Francis Towne Roman Landscape, watercolour, 1795, Gorringe's Auctions, Lewes, 25 February 2015 (1173)
    Critical commentary
    Perhaps drawn on the spot. As noted by Bethany McIntyre and Charlotte Topsfield, Wilson's adoption of an unconventional viewpoint beneath the wide coffered arch allowed him to create sharp contrasts between the foreground shadows and the sunlit gardens beyond. In style and format D104 is closely comparable with the series of drawings of Roman views executed by Wilson for Lord Dartmouth in 1754.
    Bibliography
    Binyon 11
    Condition/Conservation
    Some staining

    Work of Art

    Prints

    • Michael 'Angelo' Rooker (1746-1801) after Wilson, Temple of Peace (from Twelve Original Views in Italy), Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection, New Haven
    • Michael 'Angelo' Rooker (1746-1801) after Wilson, Temple of Peace (from Twelve Original Views in Italy), The British Museum
    • Michael 'Angelo' Rooker (1746-1801) after Wilson, Temple of Peace (from Twelve Original Views in Italy), National Museum Wales, Cardiff
    • Michael 'Angelo' Rooker (1746-1801) after Wilson, Temple of Peace (from Twelve Original Views in Italy), Royal Academy of Arts, London

    Exhibitions

    • London, British Museum, Opened 29 February 1936
    • London, British Museum, 1969

    Documents

    • Laurence Binyon, Catalogue of Drawings by British Artists and Artists of Foreign Origin working in Great Britain preserved in the Department of Prints and Drawings in the British Museum
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