Gypsies at the Entrance to a Wood
Richard Wilson (Penegoes 1714 - Mold 1782)
Category
Art / Oil paintings
Date
circa 1771 - 1779 (exh at RA?)
Materials
Oil on canvas
Measurements
324 x 406 mm (12 3/4 x 16 in)
Place of origin
England
Order this imageCollection
Anglesey Abbey, Cambridgeshire
NT 515448
Caption
The Welsh artist Richard Wilson was influenced by the classical overtones of the work of Claude Lorrain and Gaspar Dughet. He painted in Rome and the surrounding Campagna and continued producing Italianate landscapes often with classical ruins and historical figures after his return to Britain in 1757. Interestingly, this late landscape of around 1771 is less purely classical than most of Wilson’s work and it shows Italy of the present - represented by some resting gypsies- rather than of the past. Consequently the picture demonstrates that Wilson was also influenced by Dutch art and especially by Cuyp, as well as supporting the suggestion that by this date Wilson was questioning his allegiance to the Grand style.
Summary
Oil painting on canvas, Classical Landscape, Gypsies at the Entrance to a Wood by Richard Wilson, RA (Penegoes 1714 – Mold 1782), circa 1771. Two female gypsy figures on the left, have halted on a path in woods overlooking Rome on the right, seen in the distance on the plain below, a milestone on left is inscribed XV. Another gypsy rests by the edge of the road, overlooking the view. To the left of the path is a shady wood; a row of trees on the right of the path and a large gnarled tree on the left. Label on frame 'R. Wilson RA 1714-1782'. The original version was in the Brinsley Ford collection. It was etched by Thomas Hastings from a version in his own collection inscribed: painted by R. Wilson 1771, and called in his text ‘View near Albano. Peasants of Ditto, or Frescati' [sic].
Provenance
A.P. Humphrey sale, Christie's, 4 Oct 1946, lot 72, bought Leggatt. Bequeathed to the National Trust by Huttleston Rogers Broughton, 1st Lord Fairhaven (1896-1966) with the house and the rest of the contents.
Credit line
Anglesey Abbey, The Fairhaven Collection (National Trust)
Marks and inscriptions
Recto: Inscribed gilt tablet attached to bottom centre of frame: R.Wilson, R.A. 1714-1782
Makers and roles
Richard Wilson (Penegoes 1714 - Mold 1782), artist
References
Royal Academy, 1779, No.353 - Leggatt, 1947: Leggatt Bros, London, exhibition. June - Aug, 1947, No. 45, Constable 1953 W. G. Constable, Richard Wilson, 1953, pp.199-200: [Brinsley Ford version] Richard Wilson: Landscape of Reaction,Tate Gallery, London, 1982, p.243: Anglesey Abbey, 1990-1992 [The National Trust; Robin Fedden] 1972, revised 1990, reprinted 1992., p.15: Anglesey Abbey, 2006 [The National Trust] 2002, revised 2006, p.5: