View of Tivoli: the Cascatelle and the 'Villa of Maecenas'

The town of Tivoli in central Italy was believed to have been the home of Maecenas, the patron of the great Roman poets Horace and Virgil. It was a source of wonder for many artists, including Wilson, who painted the subject a number of times. Wilson decided to abandon portraiture in favour of landscape scenes such as this during his time in Italy in the 1750s. When the eminent French artist Vernet saw Wilson’s work, he expressed surprise 'that a landscape painter of such ability should have wasted time in painting portraits.’