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FRANCIS TOWNE | A view of a Hermitage at Rocca di Papa, near Lake Albano, Italy
Estimate
6,000 - 8,000 GBP
bidding is closed
Description
- Style of Francis Towne
- A view of a Hermitage at Rocca di Papa, near Lake Albano, Italy
- Pen and grey ink and wash;signed and dated, verso: A View of a Hermitage & Rocca del Papa / Francis Towne / 1781
- 249 by 375 mm
Provenance
G.B. Mountford,
by whom sold to Agnew's, May 1940,
with Agnew's, London,
by whom sold, June 1940, to Professor John Malins (1915-1992),
by direct descent to the present owner
by whom sold to Agnew's, May 1940,
with Agnew's, London,
by whom sold, June 1940, to Professor John Malins (1915-1992),
by direct descent to the present owner
Literature
R. Stephens, Francis Towne – Online Catalogue, no. FT280
Catalogue Note
Francis Towne - one of the most original landscape painters of the late eighteenth century - created this, and the following lot in June 1781 while on his year-long Grand Tour of Italy. Although he visited Naples, he based himself at Rome and it was from here that he carried out a comprehensive investigation not only of the ancient city, but also of the surrounding Campagna. In the present work, he focuses on a quiet pathway at Rocca di Papa, which lies to the south of Rome within the Alban Hills. The subject is intimate and personal by nature but with the composition's combination of strange rock formations, gnarled trees, and the extreme contrasts between light and shade, it is easy to see why it appealed to this radical artist, who was once described by a contemporary as 'the strangest genius' he had ever seen.1
1. B. Ford, (Ed) J. Ingamells, A Dictionary of British and Irish Travellers in Italy 1701-1800, New Haven 1997, p. 946
1. B. Ford, (Ed) J. Ingamells, A Dictionary of British and Irish Travellers in Italy 1701-1800, New Haven 1997, p. 946