Italian Landscape (Morning)

R. Wilson, Italian Landscape (Morning)/The Temple of Venus at BaiaeRichard Wilson, Italian Landscape (Morning)/The Temple of Venus at Baiae, Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection

The Temple of Venus at Baia, 2013Photograph of the Temple of Venus at Baia, 2013

R. Wilson, Holt Bridge on the River DeeRichard Wilson, Holt Bridge on the River Dee, National Gallery, London © National Gallery, London/Art Resource, NY

between 1760 and 1765

Richard Wilson

1714–1782

Oil on canvas

27 5/8 x 37 1/4 inches (70.2 x 94.6 cm)

This composition has been known under several titles, notably The Temple of Venus at Baiae. Although that identification has been challenged, it is partly correct. It has not hitherto been noticed that the present painting shows precisely the same building (which was actually baths rather than a temple) as that in a drawing by Wilson in the Victoria and Albert Museum but from the opposite side, revealing the ruined open aspect of the structure. Nonetheless, Wilson has made radical adjustments to its coastal setting.

B1981.25.690

Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection

http://collections.britishart.yale.edu/vufind/Record/1670826

Related Media

R. Wilson, Italian Landscape (Morning)/The Temple of Venus at Baiae Richard Wilson, Italian Landscape (Morning)/The Temple of Venus at Baiae, Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection

The Temple of Venus at Baia, 2013 Photograph of the Temple of Venus at Baia, 2013

R. Wilson, Holt Bridge on the River Dee Richard Wilson, Holt Bridge on the River Dee, National Gallery, London © National Gallery, London/Art Resource, NY