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    The Temple of Minerva Medica

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    The Temple of Minerva Medica
    The Temple of Minerva Medica
    The Temple of Minerva Medica
    Whitworth Art Gallery, The University of Manchester
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    Artist
    Richard Wilson (1713/14-1782)
    Title
    The Temple of Minerva Medica
    Date
    c.1754 (undated)
    Medium
    Black chalk, graphite and stump on wove grey paper
    Dimensions
    Metric: 321 x 409 mm
    Imperial: 12 5/8 x 16 1/8 in.
    Collection
    Whitworth Art Gallery, The University of Manchester. To license image, click here.
    Accession Number
    D.1935.19
    Wilson Online Reference
    D317A
    Description
    As proposed by Jonathan Yarker, the view was probably taken from a slight incline in the Orto Serena, identified by the antiquarian Ridolfo Venuta as a mound associated with Tarquin, one of Rome's earliest kings. The façade and campanile of the church of Santa Bibiana are visible in a modified format beyond to the left. In the centre foreground two women are seen from behind, followed by a faintly discernible sheep. At the lower right a mother sits at the foot of a flight of steps with her daughter, who stands and points.
    Exhibited
    Royal Society of British Artists 1948; Amsterdam 1965 (141); London Victoria & Albert 1968 (70)
    Provenance
    Arthur Edward Anderson; presented to the Whitworth Art Gallery, 1935
    Signature/inscription
    Inscribed in black ink, lower right margin: temple di Minerva Medica
    Subject
    The so-called temple of Minerva 'the physician' was located next to the Porta Maggiore in Rome, on agricultural land within the ancient Aurelian walls. It 'was a popular subject for painters and had been featured by Palladio in I quattro Libri dell'Archittetura, vol. 4 (1570) as Tempio vulgarmente detto le Galluce. One of the most famous and frequently reproduced monuments in 18th century Rome, it had actually been a nymphaeum, or hall for ceremonial receptions, built for the Emperor P. Licinius Gallienus (235-68 AD). Today the building faces the Via Giolitti, between the Via Labicana and the Aurelian Walls. Its distinctive decagonal dome collapsed in 1828.
    Related Drawings
    D317 Temple of Minerva Medica, Rome, Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection
    Related Prints
    E72/28 Hastings after Wilson, Temple of Minerva Medica, The British Museum (1854,0708.85)
    Related Paintings
    P60 The Temple of Minerva Medica, Rome, Private Collection, England
    Related Works by Other Artists
    [1] Francis Towne (1739-1816): The Temple of Minerva at Sunset, watercolour, 1781, The British Museum (Nn,1.19)
    [2] J.-B.-C. Corot, Temple of Minerva Medica, Rome, 1826, Musées d'Angers
    Critical commentary
    The present drawing is close in composition to P60. It is likely, therefore be after the painting, rather than preparatory for it. In contrast, D317 - an independent, presentation drawing - differs in its viewpoint and in numerous details.
    Previous Cat/Ref Nos
    1659
    Bibliography
    Ford 1951, pp. 59-60, under pl. 55; WGC, p. 206 under pl. 89b; C. Nugent, British Watercolours in the Whitworth Art Gallery, The University of Manchester, 2003, p. 288
    More Information
    A drawing of the temple of Minerva Medica was in the Paul Sandby sale, Christie's 3 May 1811 (95)
    Condition/Conservation
    Laid down. The image is enclosed within a double fictive border. Good condition overall but the surface is slightly uneven with a verticall flattened fold running from top to bottom about a third of the way in from the left.
    Updated by Compiler
    2018-10-18 00:00:00

    Work of Art

    Drawings

    • Temple of Minerva Medica, Rome, Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection

    Prints

    • Thomas Hastings after Wilson, Temple of Minerva Medica, The British Museum

    Versions

    • Richard Wilson (1713/14-1782) Temple of Minerva Medica, Rome, Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection, New Haven

    Paintings

    • Richard Wilson (1713/14-1782), The Temple of Minerva Medica, Rome, Private Collection, England

    Exhibitions

    • Amsterdam, Rijksprentenkabinet, 9 April - 23 May 1965
    • London, Victoria and Albert Museum, July - September 1968

    Documents

    • William George Constable, Richard Wilson
    • Brinsley Ford, The Drawings of Richard Wilson
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