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    Apollo and the Seasons

    Apollo and the Seasons
    Apollo and the Seasons
    Apollo and the Seasons
    Royal Academy of Arts, London
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    Artist
    William Woollett (1735-1785) and Benjamin Thomas Pouncy after Wilson and John Hamilton Mortimer
    Title
    Apollo and the Seasons
    Date
    1777 (undated)
    Medium
    Etching and engraving
    Dimensions
    Metric: 393 x 530 mm
    Imperial: 15 1/2 x 20 7/8 in.
    Collection
    Royal Academy of Arts, London. To license image, click here.
    Accession Number
    05/3053
    Wilson Online Reference
    E47
    Description
    To the left the god Apollo plays his lyre on Mount Olympus, raising his right hand towards the Seasons or Horae, four female figures who dance in a circle in the centre. Two putti sit blowing bubbles nearby. In a landscape with an overgrown temple and framing tree to the right, an extensive river or lake is the dominant feature, with mountains in the background and a square tower on the left bank in the middle distance.
    Exhibited
    London 2012 (unnumbered)
    Provenance
    Purchased from Thomas Cadell the younger's executors, 27 March 1844
    Signature/inscription
    Lettered below the image:
    [1] Left: Painted by R. Wilson
    [2] Right: Etched by W. Woollett & B.T. Pouncy
    Subject
    Based loosely on a passage from the Homeric Hymn to Apollo. The subject was popular with classical landscape painters of the 17th and 18th centuries. Apollo, god of the Sun, plays his lyre while the four Seasons dance to the music.
    Related Prints
    E24 Richard Earlom and Robert Sayer after Wilson, Apollo and the Nymphs, Royal Academy of Arts, London
    E24A Richard Earlom and Robert Sayer after Wilson, Apollo and the Nymphs, National Museum Wales, Cardiff
    E24B Richard Earlom and Robert Sayer after Wilson, Apollo and the Nymphs, The British Museum
    Versions
    See 'Links' tab
    Related Paintings
    P164 Apollo and the Seasons, Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge
    P164A Apollo and the Seasons, Indianapolis Museum of Art
    Previous Cat/Ref Nos
    PL003685
    Bibliography
    Booth Notes Doc. 4; Booth Notes Doc. 7; Edwards 1808, p. 88; Fagan 1885, p. 43, cat. XCVI, 1st State; WGC, pp. 93-94, 96, 167, pl. 26a (version 1)
    Condition/Conservation
    Conserved 2012 by Emma Cox
    Illustrations of the Work
    Manwaring 1925, facing p. 111 (an impression)
    Updated by Compiler
    2017-02-09 00:00:00

    Work of Art

    Prints

    • Richard Earlom after Wilson, Apollo and the Nymphs, Royal Academy of Arts, London
    • Richard Earlom and Robert Sayer after Wilson, Apollo and the Nymphs, National Museum Wales, Cardiff
    • Richard Earlom after Wilson, Apollo and the Nymphs, The British Museum

    Versions

    • William Woollett (1735-1785) and Benjamin Thomas Pouncyafter Wilson and John Hamilton Mortimer, Apollo and the Seasons, The British Museum

    Paintings

    • Richard Wilson (1713/14-1782), Apollo and the Seasons, Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge
    • Richard Wilson (1713/14-1782), Apollo and the Seasons, Indianapolis Museum of Art

    Exhibitions

    • London, Royal Academy, 8 December 2012 - 17 February 2013

    Biographies

    • William Woollett (1735-1785)
    • Robert Sayer (1725-1794)

    Documents

    • Edward Edwards, Anecdotes of Painters who have resided or been born in England; with critical Remarks on their Productions
    • Benjamin Booth, Unpublished Notes, Document 4
    • Benjamin Booth, Unpublished Notes, Document 7: List of Prints after Wilson's Paintings
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