- 104
Abraham-Louis-Rodolphe Ducros Moudon 1748 - 1810 Lausanne
Description
- Abraham-Louis-Rodolphe Ducros
- view of the bay of baia
- watercolour over etched outline, with a printed dedication on a separate piece of paper: Vue du Golfe de Baye/ Et des Etuves de Neron/ Dedié et presenté a Mylady Elcho/ A Rome MDCCXC par son T.H.O.S. Louis Du Cros
Provenance
Purchased in an antique shop in Windsor, 1953 (a note on the back of the mount gives a lively account of the event);
does not bear Michael Ingram's collector's mark
Catalogue Note
The so-called Stufe di Nerone are natural chambers carved from the rocks, which formed part of the extensive thermal baths benefitting from the volcanic properties of the area. Ducros was in Naples from 1794-98, where he enjoyed the patronage of Sir William Hamilton and Sir John Francis Edward Acton. When the Royal Family was forced to flee Naples, he remained but on their return he returned to Rome, as the date on this work confirms. Susan Tracey Keck, Lady Elcho (1745 ? - 1835), was the wife of Francis Wemyss Charteris, Lord Elcho, who was in Rome with his son Francis in 1790. She was a kinsman of Sir William Hamilton, which might explain the dedication of this drawing.