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    Torre delle Grotte, near Naples

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    Torre delle Grotte, near Naples
    Torre delle Grotte, near Naples
    Torre delle Grotte, near Naples
    John Mitchell Fine Paintings / The Bridgeman Art Library
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    Artist
    Richard Wilson (1713/14-1782)
    Title
    Torre delle Grotte, near Naples
    Date
    Late 1750s (undated)
    Medium
    Oil on canvas
    Dimensions
    Metric: 49 x 66 cm
    Imperial: 19 5/16 x 26 in.
    Collection
    John Mitchell Fine Paintings. To license image, click here.
    Wilson Online Reference
    P70A
    Description
    View of caves cut into a cliff-face, across a stretch of sea, with a square tower on the height and a stone arch projecting into the sea on the left. This side of the bay, men in a small barge can be seen in the left foreground and there are other sailing craft in the distance.
    Exhibited
    Long term loan to Birmingham City Art Gallery, 1950-54; Colchester, The Minories, Essex & Suffolk Houses, 2-21 March 1964; long term loan to Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery, 1970-99
    Provenance
    With Shepherd Bros, London, 1913; acquired June 1913 by Thomas Walter Bacon (1863-1950); thence by descent to his son, A.W. Bacon (1902-1999); Sotheby's London, 15 June 2000 (80); John Mitchell Fine Paintings, London; with Anthony Mould Ltd, London 2002; Christie's New York, 8 June 2011 (79)

    Signature/inscription
    [?] Signed lower right on rock: R.W.
    [?] Traces of monogram signature on awning of foreground boat
    Subject
    It has recently been shown by Martin Postle that the scene is of Torregaveta, a craggy outcrop on the Phlegraean peninsula to the east of Naples (Wilson and Europe 2014, p. 295). Close to Baiae, Cumae and the volcanic lakes of Fusaro and Avernus, it had many classical associations. At the summit of the cliffs was the ruin of a villa fortress constructed by the Roman consul, Servilius Vatia (c.122-44 BC). The tower of the villa was still prominent in the 18th century but was damaged in the Second World War, by which time the rock face and the arches had also been much eroded.
    Related Drawings
    D207 Torre delle Grotte, near Naples Tate, London (T09300)
    Related Prints
    E35 William Hodges after Wilson, Twelve Etchings of Views in Italy - Torre Delle Grotte near Naples, 1776, Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection, New Haven (B1977.14.21011(d)) and other impressions
    Versions
    See 'Links' tab
    Critical commentary
    The composition is unusual among Wilson's Italian views of this period as it has no overt references to Antiquity or to Claude but seems to have been chosen rather for its picturesque qualities, thus corresponding with works painted after Wilson's return to England.
    Previous Cat/Ref Nos
    Bacon collection 169
    Bibliography
    Bury 1947, p. 69; WGC, p. 199, pl. 78a, b, (version 1); Solkin 1982, under 78; advertisement in The British Art Journal, vol 3, no. 3, Autumn 2002
    Link to WG Constable Archive Record
    WGC/1/1/87

    Work of Art

    Drawings

    • Torre delle Grotte, near Naples, Tate, London

    Prints

    • William Hodges after Wilson, Twelve Etchings of Views in Italy - Torre Delle Grotte near Naples, Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection, New Haven
    • William Hodges after Wilson, Torre delle Grotte near Naples, The British Museum
    • William Hodges after Wilson, Torre delle Grotte near Naples, The British Museum
    • William Hodges after Wilson, Torre delle Grotte near Naples, Royal Academy of Arts, London

    Versions

    • Richard Wilson (1713/14-1782) Torre delle Grotte near Naples, Private Collection, Yorkshire
    • Richard Wilson (1713/14-1782) Torre delle Grotte near Naples, Private Collection, England

    Documents

    • William George Constable, Richard Wilson
    • David Solkin, Richard Wilson: The Landscape of Reaction
    • Adrian Bury, Richard Wilson, R.A.: The Grand Classic
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