The Church of San Giorgio Maggiore, Venice

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Private Collection, England / Photograph by John Hammond

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Artist

Richard Wilson (1713/14-1782)

Title

The Church of San Giorgio Maggiore, Venice

Date

c.1751 (undated)

Medium

Black ink and bistre wash over graphite

Dimensions

Metric: 157 x 210 mm
Imperial: 6 3/16 x 8 1/4 in.

Collection

Private Collection, England

Accession Number

RF58

Wilson Online Reference

D17

Description

Palladio's famous island church of San Giorgio Maggiore, Venice, is seen from the north, across the Grand Canal at the Molo by the Doge's Palace.

Exhibited

London 1925 (86A); Exeter 1946 (36); London, Cardiff and New Haven, 1982-83 (12); Birmingham 1993 (55); Conwy 2009 (2); Gainsborough's House 2014 (unnumbered)

Provenance

William Lock of Norbury; his sale, Sotheby's, London 3-7 May 1821; Marianne Ford; thence by descent

Signature/inscription

Unsigned; no inscription

Techniques and materials

This is Wilson's only known study of Venice in pen and wash. He probably experimented with the medium in imitation of contemporary Venetian painters, including Canaletto. Faint outlines in graphite are to be seen in the sky.

Verso inscriptions

[1] Laundry list in Wilson's hand: Cravats, Stocks, Pr. Stockings, 1 Silk, Napkins, Night

Critical commentary

Wilson arrived in Venice in late October or November 1750, where he stayed for about a year before moving on to Rome at the end of 1751. He seems to have assimilated ideas from contemporary Venetian view-painting and the technique of this drawing suggests that he experimented with the effects of pen and wash in the manner of Canaletto and other vedutisti.

Bibliography

Ford 1951, p.18; Solkin 1982, p. 153; Canaletto & England 1993, p. 128; Walpole Society 1998-I, p. 69, RF 58; Lord 2009, repr. p. 12, p. 48 (no. 2)

Updated by Compiler

26/06/2021

The Church of San Giorgio Maggiore, Venice

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