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    300 years
    Return to "Manchester 1925" is linked to these Works 42 items
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    On the Tiber

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    On the Tiber
    On the Tiber
    On the Tiber
    Private Collection / Photograph by Stuart Whipps
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    Artist
    Richard Wilson (1713/14-1782)
    Title
    On the Tiber
    Date
    Undated
    Medium
    Oil on canvas
    Dimensions
    Metric: 27.5 x 36.6 cm
    Imperial: 10 13/16 x 14 3/8 in.
    Collection
    Private Collection
    Wilson Online Reference
    P103A
    Description
    A gentle landscape beneath a golden calm expanse of sky. The scene is dominated by a square tower or belvedere set diagonally on a cliff top on the right. Sheep graze on the slope below it near a cave or tunnel. A river gently recedes into the distance from the left foreground and beyond it are other buildings, with mountains on the horizon. Two men on a bank in the foreground catch the light and add animation to the scene.
    Exhibited
    Burlington Fine Arts Club 1906 (32 - Scene on the Tiber); London 1925 (48); Manchester 1925 (27); Hull 1936 (22)
    Provenance
    Captain John Staniforth Beckett (1794-1868), Barnsley, Yorkshire and The Knoll, Torquay; Sir Hickman Bacon, Bart; Sir Nicholas Bacon, Bart; thence by descent
    Signature/inscription
    Unsigned; no inscription
    Verso inscriptions
    [1] Incised at upper end of centre vertical member of stretcher: 'J. Leedham | Liner'
    [2] White chalk, centre right of middle horizontal member of stretcher: 285
    [3] Pencil, centre horizontal member of stretcher, left: 'Received from Sir | H. Bacon | 28.6.25'
    Labels
    Verso:
    [1] Upper horizontal member of stretcher, right: Printed & black ink Hull 1936 exhibition label, inverted
    [2] Handwritten partially torn label, upper horizontal member of stretcher, left, black ink: Sir H. Bacon.
    [3] Handwritten octagonal label, upper horizontal member of stretcher, centre left: 29080
    [4] Printed and handwritten, upper section of middle vertical member of stretcher, inverted: Manchester 1925 exhibition label
    [5] Lower horizontal member of stretcher, centre, black ink, inverted: 'by R. Wilson. | Belonging to | J.S. Beckett, Esq.
    Related Drawings
    D344 Banks of the Tiber, Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence
    Related Prints
    E72/29 Thomas Hastings after Wilson, On the Tiber, The British Museum
    Versions
    See 'Links' tab
    Critical commentary
    W.G. Constable noted that the building on the right has a steeper pitched roof than that in P103 and different windows; also other differences: the figures are differently placed, and sheep and a cow introduced; there is no boat in the left foreground; and the round tower of the building across the river is to the left.
    Bibliography
    WGC, p. 222, pl. 114b version (3); J. Simon, British Picture Restorers, 1600-1950, National Portrait Gallery London, online catalogue - L
    More Information
    John Leedham (1808-1865) was the brother of Francis Leedham (1794-1870), the pre-eminent picture liner of his day. Having trained initially as a carpenter he traded as a picture liner at 14 Shouldham Street, Edgware Road, London from 1838 until his death. (British Picture Restorers, 1600-1950 - L)

    Condition/Conservation
    Kate Lowry has noted: Gilt compo frame, unglazed and not backed. Original canvas is simple weave linen; the weave is slightly open and uneven. The original canvas turnovers have been removed at the time of relining. The painting has been lined onto a similar weight canvas with glue adhesive. The seven-member pine stretcher has square mortice joints and provision for keying out. It is not original and probably dates from the relining, possibly late 19th century. The support and its lining are in good condition. Original priming or ground is white in colour and extends beneath the whole painting. The paint film, which is quite opaque, covers it almost completely. There is some impasto in the paint film but much has been flattened during lining. The paint in the distant mountain landscape is somewhat rubbed in appearance. The balance of the building in shadow to the left and that in sunlight at the upper right makes for a satisfactory composition. The details of the sheep, the sunlit building, the foreground figures and the boat on the lake all suggest that this may well be by Wilson himself.
    Updated by Compiler
    2020-12-10 00:00:00

    Work of Art

    Drawings

    • Richard Wilson (1713/14-1782), Banks of the Tiber, Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence

    Prints

    • Thomas Hastings after Wilson, On the Tiber, The British Museum

    Versions

    • Richard Wilson (1713/14-1782) On the Tiber, Private Collection, England

    Exhibitions

    • London, National Gallery, Millbank (Tate Gallery), 26 June - 30 September 1925
    • Hull, Ferens Art Gallery, November - December 1936
    • Manchester City Art Gallery, 22 October - 5 December 1925
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