Mountainous Landscape with a River and a Group of Buildings Beyond c.1720-28
Goauche on leather | 30.5 x 45.1 cm (support, canvas/panel/stretcher external) | RCIN 400558
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Marco Ricci was active chiefly as a landscape painter, and was at his finest working on a small scale. It is unlikely that this work depicts a particular place; instead Ricci has deliberately assembled a number of architectural elements to create a pleasing scene. Among the rustic buildings seen in the middle distance is a fortified, medieval-looking tower and a classical ruin of a pediment supported by two pillars. At the left is a bridge, leading to what looks like a town. Beneath the bridge a river flows into the foreground. On the riverbank are various groups of figures, including two seated men, conversing with a standing woman beside birch trees, and a fisherman carrying his net on his shoulders, at the extreme right.
A drawing in the royal collection may vaguely be the basis for the scene (see RCIN 905865). Some of the architectural elements, including the temple ruin and the bridge, occur in an etching by Ricci.Provenance
Acquired from the artist (or after his death) by Joseph Smith, British Consul in Venice; acquired from Smith by George III in 1762 (Italian List nos 116-48); recorded in the Queen's Dressing Room at Kew in 1805 and 1828
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Medium and techniques
Goauche on leather
Measurements
30.5 x 45.1 cm (support, canvas/panel/stretcher external)
40.4 x 55.3 x 3.6 cm (frame, external)
Category
Object type(s)