Skip to Content
Log InRegister
    HomePaintingsDrawingsPrintsBrowse All WorksWilson CollectionsWilson Collections MapTercentenary ExhibitionOther ExhibitionsProject HighlightsThemes and MediaBiographiesBibliographical Resources
    Advanced Search
    Work of ArtBiographiesExhibitionsBibliographical Resources
    Settings
    Pages
    300 years
    Return to "Conwy 2009" is linked to these Works 31 items
    of 31

    Lake Nemi, Figures Bathing

    This item is active and ready to use
    Lake Nemi, Figures Bathing
    Lake Nemi, Figures Bathing
    Lake Nemi, Figures Bathing
    Private Collection, England / Photograph by John Hammond
    title=Credit line
    Larger ImageShareFeedback
    Artist
    Richard Wilson (1713/14-1782)
    Title
    Lake Nemi, Figures Bathing
    Date
    c.1754-56 (undated)
    Medium
    Oil on canvas
    Dimensions
    Metric: 61 x 76.2 cm
    Imperial: 24 x 30 in.
    Collection
    Private Collection, England
    Accession Number
    BB12
    Wilson Online Reference
    P81
    Description
    The lake and town of Nemi,with two women bathing from a rock in the right foreground.
    Exhibited
    Brighton 1920 (35); Hull 1936 (33); Machynlleth 1937 (8); Exeter 1946 (75); Conwy 2009 (11); Weston 2011 (11); Gainsborough House 2014 (unnumbered)
    Provenance
    Benjamin Booth; The Revd R.S. Booth; Lady Ford; Sir Richard Ford, Sir F. Clare Ford; John G. Ford; Sir Brinsley Ford; thence by descent
    Signature/inscription
    Unsigned; no inscription
    Subject
    Lake Nemi is situated about 19 miles south of Rome in Lazio. It is a small volcanic lake, overlooked by the eponymous town. Both town and lake were closely associated with the cult of the goddess Diana, whose temple was in nearby Ariccia. It was known by Virgil and other ancient writers as Speculum Dianae (Diana's Mirror). Wilson went on to produce works such as P127 and P127A that made reference to the mythological associations of the place, by including the figures of Diana and Callisto as described by Ovid.
    Related Prints
    E72/33 Thomas Hastings, The Lake of Nemi in Italy, 1824, The British Museum (1854,0708.90) and other impressions
    Versions
    See 'Links' tab
    Related Paintings
    P127 Richard Wilson and Studio:The Lake of Nemi or Speculum Dianae with Dolbadarn Castle (Diana and Callisto)
    P127A The Lake of Nemi or Speculum Dianae (The Lake of Nemi with Diana and Callisto)
    Related Works by Other Artists
    Gaspard Dughet, Ideal Landscape, later 1640s, Glasgow City Art Gallery and Museum
    Critical commentary
    Probably the painting referred to by Benjamin Booth as 'Nemi. painted at Rome' (Booth Notes Doc. 8). The style supports a dating to Wilson's Roman years.
    Bibliography
    Booth Notes Doc. 5, p. 2; probably Booth Notes Doc. 8, p. 1 (Nemi. painted at Rome.); Booth Notes, Doc. 9 (37): WGC, p. 208, pl. 93a (version 1); Walpole Society 1998-I, p. 15; Lord 2009, p. 53, no. 11; Williams 2011, p. 22, repr.
    Link to WG Constable Archive Record
    WGC/1/1/102
    Updated by Compiler
    2020-08-26 00:00:00

    Work of Art

    Prints

    • Thomas Hastings after Wilson, The Lake of Nemi in Italy, The British Museum

    Paintings

    • Richard Wilson and Studio:The Lake of Nemi or Speculum Dianae with Dolbadarn Castle (Diana and Callisto)
    • The Lake of Nemi or Speculum Dianae (The Lake of Nemi with Diana and Callisto)

    Exhibitions

    • Brighton, Fine Art Galleries, 28 February - 2 May 1920
    • Hull, Ferens Art Gallery, November - December 1936
    • Conwy, Royal Cambrian Academy, 24 October - 23 December 2009
    • Weston Park, The Granary Art Gallery, 2 April - 3 July 2011
    • Exeter, Royal Albert Memorial Museum, 7 March - 5 April 1946
    • Sudbury, Gainsborough's House, 11 January - 31 May 2014
    • Machynlleth, Wales, 26 July - 14 August 1937

    Biographies

    • Benjamin Booth (1732-1807)
    • Sir Brinsley Ford (1908-1999)
    • The Revd Richard Salwey Booth (1762-1807)
    • Elizabeth Booth (1763-1819)
    • Marianne Booth, Lady Ford (1767-1849)
    • Sir Richard Ford (1758-1806)

    Documents

    • William George Constable, Richard Wilson
    • Brinsley Ford and other authors, The Ford Collection
    • Gareth Williams, Masterpieces from the Ford Collection
    • Benjamin Booth, Unpublished Notes, Document 5: List of Wilson's Works with Owners
    • Benjamin Booth, Unpublished Notes, Document 8: List of Wilson's Paintings and Works by Old Masters and other Artists in Booth's Collection
    • Benjamin Booth, Unpublished Notes, Document 9: List of Wilson's Landscapes with Sizes and former Owners
    © Richard Wilson OnlineCreditsCopyright & DisclaimerPrivacy