The West Belvedere at Hadrian's Villa, Tivoli (Hadrian's Villa)

The West Belvedere at Hadrian's Villa, Tivoli (Hadrian's Villa)
The West Belvedere at Hadrian's Villa, Tivoli (Hadrian's Villa)
The West Belvedere at Hadrian's Villa, Tivoli (Hadrian's Villa)
Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki, Auckland, New Zealand
title=Credit line
Artist
Richard Wilson (1713/14-1782)
Title
The West Belvedere at Hadrian's Villa, Tivoli (Hadrian's Villa)
Date
c.1765 (undated)
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
Metric: 43.2 x 54 cm
Imperial: 17 x 21 1/4 in.
Accession Number
1957/14
Wilson Online Reference
P139A
Description
Rural scene depicting Hadrian's Villa near Tivoli in Italy. Viewed from the left bank of a river, ruined arches and a small stone building with pitched roof can be seen in the foreground. A figure stands upon the arches beside the dwelling, leaning over wooden railings from which washing is hanging. Below two figures rest beside a track running down the bank towards the river. The view from the riverbank extends across a wooded landscape towards the hills in distance. The sky is deep blue with scattered clouds.
Exhibited
Auckland City Art Gallery, New Zealand, Old Master Paintings from the Private and Public Collections of New Zealand, 1959 (17)
Provenance
Anon sale, Christie's 27 June 1896 (46); Sir Edward Paul Dean, Bart; with C. Marshall Spink & Son Ltd, 5,6,7 King Street, St James's, London S.W.1., 1957; purchased by Auckland City Art Gallery 1957
Signature/inscription
Unsigned; no inscription
Subject
Hadrian's Villa was begun during the emperor's reign in 125 AD and completed ten years later. It was planned so as to reproduce on one site all the famous buildings that the emperor had seen in Greece and Egypt. Later it was plundered by invaders and not excavated and restored until the Renaissance.
Related Drawings
D170 The West Belvedere at Hadrian's Villa, Tivoli, Glynn Vivian Art Gallery, Swansea
Versions
See 'Links' tab
Bibliography
Gallery Quarterly, no. 5, p. 4; Tomory & Gaston 1989, p. 52, no. 140
Condition/Conservation
Dimensions framed: 61.8 x 73.5 cm
Updated by Compiler
2021-10-14 00:00:00