Studies and Designs done in Rome in the Year 1752, p. 41: A Horse

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Victoria & Albert Museum, London

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Artist

Richard Wilson (1713/14-1782)

Title

Studies and Designs done in Rome in the Year 1752, p. 41: A Horse

Date

1752

Medium

Black chalk on white paper

Dimensions

Metric: 188 x 130 mm (volume: 203 x 143 mm)
Imperial: 8 x 5 5/8 in.

Collection

Victoria & Albert Museum, London. To license image, click here

Accession Number

E.3586-1922

Wilson Online Reference

D53/41

Provenance

Bt about 1922 from Miss Alice J. Bowles

Critical commentary

Wilson's commitment to landscape made soon after his arrival in Rome in late 1751 initiated a sustained burst of activity as a draughtsman which was to gain momentum over the next few years. One major piece of evidence for the seriousness with which he took his new career is provided by the pages of this surviving sketchbook from 1752. Although it contains a number of rapid sketches from nature and the antique, most of its leaves are filled with imaginary essays in landscape design, usually incorporating classical themes such as antique ruins but presented in a rococo manner, and, as noted by Solkin, 'using lazy curving forms and often capricious combinations of architectural motifs in a way that still recalls the works of Zuccarelli.' Increasingly, however, Wilson came to adopt a more naturalistic style.

Bibliography

Sutton & Clements 1968, p. 33, fig. 35; Solkin 1982, pp. 152, 157

More Information

Only two sketchbooks by Wilson have survived - the present one (D53-D53/81) and D280-D280/33 Italian Sketchbook - Drawings, 1754, Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection

Studies and Designs done in Rome in the Year 1752, p. 41: A Horse

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