Prints and Drawings Room
View by appointment- Artist
- John Downman 1750–1824
- Medium
- Graphite, watercolour and ink on paper
- Dimensions
- Support: 383 × 544 mm
- Collection
- Tate
- Acquisition
- Purchased as part of the Oppé Collection with assistance from the National Lottery through the Heritage Lottery Fund 1996
- Reference
- T10175
Display caption
The Chigi park, near the town of Ariccia, lies to the south of Rome; a dramatic, wooded landscape, filled with fountains and gorges. Although many artists of this time made studies of the Chigi park, Downman’s concentration upon the tangled roots of an individual tree is unusual, perhaps showing more in common with the intense scrutiny of nature found in works of later artists like the Pre-Raphaelites. It is possible that Downman made this drawing using a ‘camera obscura’ - a form of pinhole camera - which he is known to have employed in at least one other landsape drawing made in Italy.
Gallery label, April 2007
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