- 95
David Roberts, R.A.
Estimate
6,000 - 8,000 USD
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Description
- David Roberts, R.A.
- The Fountain of the Artichoke, near the Prado, Madrid
- Watercolor over pencil, heightened with touches of bodycolor on gray-blue paper;
signed lower left: David Roberts R.A.
Provenance
With Bill Thomson, London;
sale, London, Sotheby's, 19 November 1992, lot 135;
sale, London, Sotheby’s, 11 July 1996, lot 122,
where acquired by Bernadette and William M.B. Berger, Denver, Colorado
sale, London, Sotheby's, 19 November 1992, lot 135;
sale, London, Sotheby’s, 11 July 1996, lot 122,
where acquired by Bernadette and William M.B. Berger, Denver, Colorado
Catalogue Note
Roberts arrived in Madrid on 6 December 1832, during an extended visit to Spain from October 1832 to October 1833 and stayed for over a month. He spent much of his time in the Prado, where he was greatly impressed by the Spanish Masters, in particular Murillo and Velasquez. He also made sketches of building exteriors and interiors, as well as several fountains.
The present watercolor is based on a now lost 'on-the-spot' drawing and is one of at least three variants centred on the Fountain of the Artichoke, in Madrid’s Retiro Park, with the Observatory in the background. One of these variants, which shows the Observatory in closer view and different figures in the foreground, was engraved as the frontispiece to Jennings’ Landscape Annual or ‘Tourist in Spain, Biscay and the Castiles’ (published in 1837).
In 1841 Roberts painted an oil of this subject for Queen Victoria, as a Christmas present for Prince Albert (Royal Collection). He also drew the subject for Queen Victoria’s album (untraced).
We are grateful to Krystyna Matyjaskiewicz for her help when cataloguing this work.
The present watercolor is based on a now lost 'on-the-spot' drawing and is one of at least three variants centred on the Fountain of the Artichoke, in Madrid’s Retiro Park, with the Observatory in the background. One of these variants, which shows the Observatory in closer view and different figures in the foreground, was engraved as the frontispiece to Jennings’ Landscape Annual or ‘Tourist in Spain, Biscay and the Castiles’ (published in 1837).
In 1841 Roberts painted an oil of this subject for Queen Victoria, as a Christmas present for Prince Albert (Royal Collection). He also drew the subject for Queen Victoria’s album (untraced).
We are grateful to Krystyna Matyjaskiewicz for her help when cataloguing this work.