Rome from the Villa Madama

Rome from the Villa Madama
Rome from the Villa Madama
Rome from the Villa Madama
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
title=Credit line
Artist
Richard Wilson (1713/14-1782)
Title
Rome from the Villa Madama
Date
Undated
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
Metric: 42.8 x 52.7 cm
Imperial: 16 13/16 x 20 3/4 in.
Accession Number
A987
Wilson Online Reference
P56A
Description
The view is from the gardens of the Villa Madama on the slopes of Monte Mario. The Villa itself is seen only in part on the right and beyond it is the dome of St Peter's on the skyline. The River Tiber meanders through the composition leading the eye to the Alban Hills in the distance, beyond the city of Rome.
Exhibited
London 1925 (25 - View of Rome; Manchester 1925 (36); London, Colnaghi, February - March 1962, Madan Collection (7)
Provenance
Col. M.H. Grant; with Leggatt, London, 1927; bequeathed by Francis Faber Madan, 1962
Signature/inscription
Unsigned; no inscription
Mount inscriptions
[1] Painted in black on frame lower right: No 18q
Labels
[1] Verso of frame circular upper left: c HAB | II.
[2] Verso of frame upper centre: F.F. Madan Esq | Richard Wilson
[3] Verso on vertical stretcher, inverted: [printed:] City of Manchester | [black ink:] 18 Sep
Related Drawings
D225 The Villa Madama, Rome, with a Man seated in the Foreground, Private Collection, England
Versions
See 'Links' tab
Critical commentary
This painting is more freely executed, of lighter mood and includes fewer incidental details than the other versions; also the viewpoint is from further to the left and nearer to the river. For these reasons and in view of its smaller size it may have been a modello, submitted for the client's approval.
Previous Cat/Ref Nos
WA1962.17.29
18q
Bibliography
Bury 1947, p. 72; WGC, pp. 218-19 under pl. 107 a, b (version 4); Solkin 2015, pp. 212-13
Link to WG Constable Archive Record
More Information
As noted in Solkin 2015, Wilson was the only British landscapist with direct experience of the fabled sites of Roman Antiquity until the return of William Marlow from Europe in 1766.
Condition/Conservation
Relined. Extensive craquelure, which appears in-painted in places. Varnish is thick, even, glossy and discoloured (yellowed).
Updated by Compiler
2021-02-16 00:00:00