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Tivoli with the Temples of Vesta and the Sibyl and the Grand Cascade
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Tivoli with the Temples of Vesta and the Sibyl and the Grand Cascade
Tivoli with the Temples of Vesta and the Sibyl and the Grand Cascade
National Museum Wales, Cardiff
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Artist
Richard Wilson (1713/14-1782)
Title
Tivoli with the Temples of Vesta and the Sibyl and the Grand Cascade
Date
c.1753-56 (undated)
Medium
Black and white chalk on buff paperlack chalk heightened with whjite on ghreyu paper
Dimensions
Metric: 252 x 187 mm
Imperial: 9 13/16 x 7 1/4 in.
Details
Links
Collection
National Museum Wales, Cardiff. To license image, click here.
Accession Number
NMW A 5752
Wilson Online Reference
D217
Description
The view is from the bottom of the gorge, to the north-east of the town of Tivoli. The round Temple of Vesta and part of the Temple of the Sibyl behind it are seen to the right on a crest of the Aniene Gorge.
Exhibited
London, Cardiff and New Haven, 1982-83 (34)
Provenance
Joseph Farington, R.A.; Lady Ford; J. Deffett Francis; Thomas Woolner, R.A.; Sotheby's 20 December 1912; purchased from F.R. Meatyard 1919
Signature/inscription
Unsigned; Inscribed on old mount (see 'Mount inscriptions')
Verso inscriptions
[1] Upper centre, pencil: This drawing belonged to Joseph Farrington [sic] | R.A. | who was a pupil of Richard Wilson's. It did belong to Lady Ford. Its genuineness is certified underneath by the initials of Farrington. | I have much gratification in begging my friend Thomas Woolner's R.A. acceptance of it. J. Deffett Francis
[2] Upper centre, ink: Wilson
[3] Lower centre. ink JF
[4] Lower centre. ink: Bought at Sotheby's -Dec. 20.1912.10/- / RER
Mount inscriptions
[1] Lower left, pencil: 658
[2] Lower right, pencil: 3
Subject
Tivoli is about 20 kilometres from Rome, on the lower slopes of the Sabine Hills. Its finest ruin, the so-called Temple of Vesta (also known confusingly as the Temple of the Tiburtine Sibyl), is a circular building dating from the 1st century BC. Situated dramatically above the a precipice and cascade, it has been admired by artists since the 16th century because of its picturesque location and became a famous attraction for Grand Tourists. Wilson visited the town on several occasions.
Related Drawings
D280/10
Italian Sketchbook - Drawings pp. 10(v) and 11(r): The Temples of Vesta and the Sibyl at Tivoli
, Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection, New Haven
Related Paintings
P45
The Temple of the Sibyl and the Campagna
, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin.
Related Works by Other Artists
[1] Francis Towne (1739-1816):
Tivoli from below the Falls, with the Temple of Vesta
, watercolour, 1781, The British Museum (Nn,3.6)
Critical commentary
This view is an elaborated and extended version of D280/10
Italian Sketchbook
, p. 11(r). The viewpoint, however, does not relate directly to any known painting by Wilson.
Previous Cat/Ref Nos
19.229
Bibliography
Cardiff 1961, pp. 12-13; Sutton & Clements 1968, p. 32, fig. 34; Solkin 1982, p.162; Spencer-Longhurst 2012, pp. 59-60, fig. 33
Condition/Conservation
Paper slightly discoloured. The drawing is mounted on an old line mount with gilt edging next to it.
Work of Art
Drawings
Italian Sketchbook - Drawings pp. 10(v) and 11(r): The Temples of Vesta and the Sibyl at Tivoli
, Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection, New Haven
Paintings
P45
The Temple of the Sibyl and the Campagna
, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin
Exhibitions
London, Tate Gallery, Cardiff, National Museum of Wales, and New Haven, Conn., Yale Center for British Art, 3 November 1982 - 19 June 1983
Biographies
John Deffett Francis (1815-1901)
Joseph Farington (1747-1821)
Frederick Meatyard (died c.1964)
Marianne Booth, Lady Ford (1767-1849)
Thomas Woolner, R.A. (1825-1892)
Documents
David Solkin,
Richard Wilson: The Landscape of Reaction
Paul Spencer-Longhurst, 'All the Quality of his Pictures except the Colour': Richard Wilson's Drawings as Collectors' Items
Denys Sutton & Ann Clements,
An Italian Sketchbook by Richard Wilson, RA: Drawings made by the Artist in Rome and its Environs in the Year 1754