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View of Tivoli: the Cascatelle and the 'Villa of Maecenas'
Richard Wilsonc.1752
Dulwich Picture Gallery
London, United Kingdom
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.’
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Details
- Title: View of Tivoli: the Cascatelle and the 'Villa of Maecenas'
- Creator Lifespan: 1713/14 - 1782
- Date: c.1752
- Physical Dimensions: w972 x h733 cm
- Type: Painting
- Medium: Oil
- Work Nationality: British
- Support: Canvas
- Provenance: Dr Munro, ?1796; Mr Norris of Manchester; his sale, Wright, Liverpool, 14 Mar. 1804, lot 49; presumably Hill; London, Noel Desenfans, bef. 1807; London, Sir Francis Bourgeois, 1807-1811; Bourgeois Bequest, 1811.
- Further Information: This Italianate landscape by Wilson shows the celebrated Cascatelle of Tivoli, with the town of Tivoli above, and in the centre the ruins of the Sanctuary of Hercules Victor, formerly thought to be those of the Villa of Maecenas. A smaller version in the National Gallery of Ireland was painted, according to an inscription on the verso, in 1752.
- Artist: Wilson, Richard
- Acquisition Method: Bourgeois, Sir Peter Francis (Bequest, 1811)
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