Prints and Drawings Room
View by appointment- Artist
- Joseph Wright of Derby 1734–1797
- Medium
- Graphite and watercolour on paper. verso: graphite on paper
- Dimensions
- Support: 242 × 348 mm
- Collection
- Tate
- Acquisition
- Purchased as part of the Oppé Collection with assistance from the National Lottery through the Heritage Lottery Fund 1996
- Reference
- T08253
Display caption
Wright sailed for Rome in November 1773. His trip was possibly inspired by a similar tour undertaken by his teacher, the portraitist Thomas Hudson (1701-79) in 1752. Briefly stopping en-route in Nice in December, Wright made several picturesque sketches of the surrounding countryside. These pre-figure his later Italian landscapes and reveal his refined touch. This drawing, in particular, is rich in minute topographical detail. However, its design recalls Wright''s treatment of a single portrait subject, the castle ruin and the diagonal of the hill-slope anchoring the composition like a seated figure.
Gallery label, August 2004
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