Studies and Designs by R…

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Victoria & Albert Museum, London

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Artist

Richard Wilson (1713/14-1782)

Title

Studies and Designs by R. Wilson done in Rome in the Year MDCCLII - Front Cover

Date

Dated 1752

Dimensions

Metric: 203 x 143 mm
Imperial: 8 x 5 5/8 in.

Collection

Victoria & Albert Museum, London. To license image, click here

Accession Number

E.3586-1922

Wilson Online Reference

D53

Exhibited

London Victoria & Albert 1968 (173); London, Cardiff and New Haven 1982-83 (21)

Provenance

Bought about 1922 from Miss Alice J. Bowles

Critical commentary

Wilson's commitment to landscape made soon after his arrival in Rome in late 1751 initiated a sustained burst of activity as a draughtsman which was to gain momentum over the next few years. One major piece of evidence for the seriousness with which he took his new career is provided by the pages of this surviving sketchbook from 1752. Although it contains a number of rapid sketches from nature and the antique, most of its leaves are filled with imaginary essays in landscape design, usually incorporating classical themes such as antique ruins but presented in a rococo manner, and, as noted by Solkin, 'using lazy curving forms and often capricious combinations of architectural motifs in a way that still recalls the works of Zuccarelli.' Increasingly, however, Wilson came to adopt a more naturalistic style.

Bibliography

Solkin 1982, pp. 152, 157

More Information

Only two sketchbooks by Wilson have survived - the present one (D53-D53/81) and D280-D280/33 Italian Sketchbook - Drawings, 1754, Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection

Studies and Designs by R…

Exhibitions