The Outskirts of Rome under Snow

The Outskirts of Rome under Snow
The Outskirts of Rome under Snow
The Outskirts of Rome under Snow
Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford
title=Credit line
Artist
Richard Wilson (1713/14-1782)
Title
The Outskirts of Rome under Snow
Date
Dated 1756
Medium
Black and white chalk and stump on faded grey-green paper
Dimensions
Metric: 174 x 192 mm
Imperial: 6 7/8 x 7 9/16 in.
Accession Number
WA1855.146
Wilson Online Reference
D341
Description
A wintry scene. In the foreground is a road leading back between a house with figures in a porch on the right and trees, some bare, on the left. A heavily muffled man and a child walk towards the lower left and another figure with a staff follows them further back. In the distance are open country and mountains. The composition is enclosed by two black chalk lines.
Exhibited
Kenwood 1974 (25)
Provenance
Chambers Hall Gift, 1855
Signature/inscription
[1] Signed in black chalk at lower left corner beneath the ruled line: R W f.
[2] Inscribed and dated in black chalk, lower right: Romae 1756
Techniques and materials
Stump work can be seen in the trees and windows
Collectors' marks
[1] Recto lower left corner: Chambers Hall (Lugt 551)
[2] Recto lower left corner: Oxford University Galleries (Lugt 2003)
Critical commentary
Highly atmospheric, perfectly recreating the desolation of winter in a poverty-stricken area outside Rome, this drawing provides evidence of Wilson's presence in Rome during the first or last months of 1756.
Previous Cat/Ref Nos
1900
Bibliography
WGC, p. 38; Brown 1982, pp. 664-65, no. 1900, pl. 549
More Information
Mounted with D377 Study of a Hill Crest and Clouds
Condition/Conservation
The discolouration of the grey paper in some places to a brownish grey may well result from the application of a wash to heighten the impression of a dark sky.