Updated 07 March 2025
On Display Permanent collection
On Display
Landscape Capriccio with Tomb of the Horatii and Curiatii, and the Villa of Maecenas at Tivoli
| Date | 1754 |
|---|---|
| Materials and Techniques | oil on canvas |
| Size（cm） | 99.1 x 134.5 |
| Inscriptions | Signed (R and W in monogram) and dated lower right on the masonry: RW / ROMA / 1754 |
| Credit Line | Purchased |
| Category | Paintings |
| Collection Number | P.1998-0005 |
Wilson stayed in Italy during the 1750s and was strongly influenced by Claude Lorraine and Gaspard Dughet. The foreground shows the tombs of the Horatii, three brothers who are heroes in Roman history, in Via Appia Nuova. Opposite them is a female statue probably based on a statue in the Villa Medici. Portrayed in the middle ground is the villa of Maecenas, recalling the glory of ancient Rome. The melancholic tone in this painting implies the yearning for ancient culture by the British aristocracy of the time, who were keen to be a scion of such civilization. (Source: The Digital Gallery. 1999-2006)
Provenance
Christie's, London, 7 June 1845; Derek Johns, London; Purchased by the NMWA, 1999.
Exhibition History
- 1982
- Richard Wilson: the landscape of reaction, Solkin, David H. ed., Tate Gallery, London, 3 November 1982 - 2 January 1983, no. 72
- 2012
- Hubert Robert: Les jardins du Temps, The National Museum of Western Art , 6 March 2012 - 20 May 2012, cat. no. 101
- 2014
- The Rings from The Hashimoto Collection of The National Museum of Western Art, The National Museum of Western Art, 8 July 2014 - 15 September 2014, cat. no. 261
Bibliography
- 1953
- Constable, W. G. Richard Wilson. London, 1953, p. 204 (as lost work).
- 2000
- New Acquisitions. Annual bulletin of the National Museum of Western Art. no. 33 (Apr. 1998-Mar. 1999), 2000, Kofuku, Akira. New Acquisitions. pp. 19-20, List of New Acquisitions. p. 44, col. repr.
- 2012
- Hubert Robert: Les jardins du Temps (exh. cat.). The National Museum of Western Art; Fukuoka Art Museum; Shizuoka Prefectural Museum of Art; The Tokyo Shimbun, eds. [Tokyo/ Fukuoka/ Shizuoka], The National Museum of Western Art; Western Art Foundation; Fukuoka Art Museum; Shizuoka Prefectural Museum of Art; The Tokyo Shimbun, 2012, pp. 204-205, 308, cat. no. 101, col. repr.
- 2013
- Masterpieces: The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo. Tokyo, The Western Art Foundation, 2013 (Japanese, preface in Japanese and English), no. 67, col. repr.