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    300 years
    "Ford 1951" is linked to these Works
    of 91

    The Castle of Sant' Angelo, Rome

    The Castle of Sant' Angelo, Rome
    The Castle of Sant' Angelo, Rome
    The Castle of Sant' Angelo, Rome
    Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
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    Artist
    Richard Wilson (1713/14-1782)
    Title
    The Castle of Sant' Angelo, Rome
    Date
    c.1752-53 (undated)
    Medium
    Black chalk on grey-blue paper
    Dimensions
    Metric: 258 x 373 mm
    Imperial: 10 1/8 x 14 11/16 in.
    Collection
    Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford. To license image, click here.
    Accession Number
    WA1953.28
    Wilson Online Reference
    D119
    Exhibited
    London 1925 (91); Manchester 1925 (9)
    Provenance
    Paul Sandby; his sale, Christie's 2-4 May 1811 (93); Jeffrey; R.P. Roupell; Christie's 12-14 July 1887 (1357); Edward Riggall; Sotheby's 4 July 1901 (103); Herbert Horne; Sir Edward Marsh; bequeathed to the National Art Collections Fund 1953; allocated to the Ashmolean Museum.
    Signature/inscription
    Unsigned; no inscription
    Collectors' marks
    [1] Lower left corner: Paul Sandby (Lugt 2112)
    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 a new statue of the archangel, visible in this drawing and executed by the Flemish sculptor Peter Anton von Verschaffelt (1710-1793), was installed on the top of the building.
    Related Prints
    E60/17A John Whessell after Wilson, Studies & Designs: Castle of St Angelo, National Museum Wales, Cardiff
    E60/18A John Whessell after Wilson, Castle of St Angelo, National Museum Wales, Cardiff
    Versions
    See 'Links' tab
    Previous Cat/Ref Nos
    1889
    Bibliography
    Ford 1951, p. 57 under no. 37; Brown 1982, pp. 660-61, no. 1889
    Location featured in work
    The Castello Sant' Angelo from beyond the Tiber

    Work of Art

    Prints

    • John Whessell after Wilson, Studies & Designs: Castle of St Angelo, National Museum Wales, Cardiff
    • John Whessell after Wilson, Castle of St Angelo, National Museum Wales, Cardiff

    Versions

    • Richard Wilson (1713/14-1782) The Castle of St Angelo, Rome, Tate, London

    Biographies

    • Paul Sandby (c.1730-1809)
    • Sir Edward Howard Marsh (1872-1953)
    • Herbert Horne (1864-1916)

    Documents

    • Brinsley Ford, The Drawings of Richard Wilson
    • David Blayney Brown, Catalogue of the Collection of Drawings in the Ashmolean Museum, Volume IV: The Earlier British Drawings, British Artists and Foreigners working in Britain born before c.1775
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