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    Return to "Whessell" is linked to these Works 57 items
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    Studies & Designs: Castle of St Angelo

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    Studies & Designs: Castle of St Angelo
    Studies & Designs: Castle of St Angelo
    Studies & Designs: Castle of St Angelo
    National Museum Wales, Cardiff
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    Artist
    John Whessell (c.1760-1806) after Wilson
    Title
    Studies & Designs: Castle of St Angelo
    Date
    Published 1811
    Medium
    Soft-ground etching on India laid paper
    Dimensions
    Metric: 98 x 145 mm
    Imperial: 3 7/8 x 5 5/8 in.
    Collection
    National Museum Wales, Cardiff. To license image, click here.
    Accession Number
    NMW A 10946
    Wilson Online Reference
    E60/17A
    Description
    The papal fortress of Castel Sant' Angelo, Rome, surmounted by a cross and with an adjoining wall to the right, is seen from across the River Tiber. To the left a boat with two figures on board seems almost becalmed and there is larger shipping in the background.
    Provenance
    Thomas Henry Thomas Bequest 1916
    Signature/inscription
    Lettered below the image: Wilson del. | Whessell Sc
    Mount inscriptions
    [1] Lower centre, pencil: 4
    Subject
    The Castel Sant'Angelo was initially commissioned by the Roman Emperor Hadrian as a mausoleum for himself and his family. Constructed on the right bank of the Tiber from 134-139 AD, the building, once the tallest in Rome, was later used by the popes as a fortress and castle. According to legend the Archangel Michael appeared above it, sheathing his sword as a sign of the end of the plague of 590 AD. In 1753, the year after Wilson's drawing was made, a new statue of the archangel, executed by the Flemish sculptor Peter Anton von Verschaffelt (1710-1793), was installed on the top of the building.
    Related Drawings
    D53/3 Studies and Designs done in Rome in the Year 1752, p. 3, Victoria & Albert Museum, London
    D119 The Castle of Sant' Angelo, Rome, Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
    D119A The Castle of St Angelo, Rome, Tate, London
    Related Prints
    E60/18A John Whessell after Wilson, Castle of St Angelo, National Museum Wales, Cardiff
    Critical commentary
    From a set of small soft-ground etchings by Whessell made after Wilson's drawings in a sketchbook at the Victoria & Albert Museum (D53-D53/81). The present print is taken from p.3 (D53/3). In 1811 the etchings were published by the Oxford-based publisher, Robert Archer in more than one format.
    Previous Cat/Ref Nos
    16.182
    Bibliography
    Archer 1811, p. 4
    Condition/Conservation
    Proof state
    Updated by Compiler
    2017-09-25 00:00:00

    Work of Art

    Drawings

    • Studies and Designs done in Rome in the Year 1752, p. 3, Victoria & Albert Museum, London
    • The Castle of Sant' Angelo, Rome, Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
    • The Castle of St Angelo, Rome, Tate, London

    Prints

    • John Whessell after Wilson, Castle of St Angelo, National Museum Wales, Cardiff

    Biographies

    • John Whessell (Active 1760-1799)
    • Robert Archer (1811)

    Documents

    • Robert Archer, Studies and Designs by Richard Wilson, done at Rome in the Year 1752
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