- Description
-
- Creator
- Francis Towne (1739 - 1816)
- Title(s)
-
- The Claudian Aqueduct
- The Claudian Aquaduct, Rome
- Date
- 1785
- Medium
- Pencil, pen and black ink, watercolour
- Dimensions
-
- image width 322mm,
- image length 472mm
- Support
- paper with a fleur-de-lis watermark
- Mount
- mounted by the artist, with pin hole marks at the corners of the mount
- Inscription
-
- sheet, recto, lower right
- “F.Towne delt / 1785”
- in black ink, small neat hand
- Inscription
-
- artist's mount, verso
- “No.4 A View of the Claudian Aqueduct at Rome / looking towards mount Palatine / Drawn by / Francis Towne / 1785”
- in neat handwriting
- Object Type
- Watercolour
-
- Collection
- Catalogue Number
- FT428
- Description Sources
- Examination; Museum records (image)
Provenance
Commissioned by Thomas Snow of Cleve (1748–1832) and descended to his great-great-granddaughter Miss Audrey Wilmot Snow of Cleve (1891–1972). On 9 June 1950 the drawing was sold by the Polak Gallery to the Fine Art Society (no.5541) for £200 with FT432. There it was bought in July 1950 by Sir William Worsley, Bt (1890–1973), for £315 with 432. Subsequently it was acquired by Paul Mellon (1907–1999), who gave it in 1978 to the present owner, the Yale Center for British Art, New Haven (B1978.43.170).
- Associated People & Organisations
- Yale Center for British Art, New Haven, 1978, B1978.43.170
- Mr Paul Mellon (1907 - 1999)
- Sir William Worsley (1890 - 1973), July 1950, GBP 315
Acquired with FT432 - The Fine Art Society, London, London, 9 June 1950, GBP 200 , no.5541
Acquired with FT432 - Polak Gallery, 9 June 1950
- Audrey Wilmot Snow (1891 - 1972), Exwick, Exeter
- Thomas Snow (1748 - 1832), Exwick, Exeter
- Exhibition History
- Watercolours by Francis Towne, City Art Gallery, 1950
- Recent Acquisitions, Yale Center for British Art, 1978
- Classic Ground, Yale Center for British Art, 1981, no. 67
- Presences of Nature, Yale Center for British Art, 1982, no. III, 15
- Acquisitions: the First Decade, Yale Center for British Art, 1987, no. 126
- Edward Lear and the Art of Travel, Yale Center for British Art, 2000, no. 159
- Bibliography
- Adrian Bury, Francis Towne - Lone Star of Water-Colour Painting, Charles Skilton: London, 1962, p. 142
- Sir William Worsley, Early English Water-Colours at Hovingham Hall: 1963, p. 12
Other entries in Studio Watercolours, 1783–1800
Francis Towne
Much Wenlock, Shropshire, with the Ruins of the Priory Church
Much Wenlock, Shropshire, with the Ruins of the Priory Church
Francis Towne
The Wrekin, on the Road between Much Wenlock and Shrewsbury
The Wrekin, on the Road between Much Wenlock and Shrewsbury
Francis Towne
A View going from the Head of Lake Como over Mount Splugen
A View going from the Head of Lake Como over Mount Splugen
Francis Towne
The Campagna near Rome looking towards the Sabine Mountains
The Campagna near Rome looking towards the Sabine Mountains
Francis Towne
A View of Loreto with Part of the Adriatic Sea
A View of Loreto with Part of the Adriatic Sea
Francis Towne
A View near the Arco Scuro Looking towards the Villa Medici
A View near the Arco Scuro Looking towards the Villa Medici
Francis Towne
An Evening View from Mount Palatine looking towards Mount Aventine
An Evening View from Mount Palatine looking towards Mount Aventine
Francis Towne
A View on the Banks of the Tiber near Monte Milvio
A View on the Banks of the Tiber near Monte Milvio
Francis Towne
A View of the Temple of Venus looking towards the Island of Nisida
A View of the Temple of Venus looking towards the Island of Nisida
Francis Towne
Chateau de Glerolles, near Vevey on Lake Geneva
Chateau de Glerolles, near Vevey on Lake Geneva
Francis Towne
Abbey Valley Crucis, near Llangollen on the River Dee, North Wales
Abbey Valley Crucis, near Llangollen on the River Dee, North Wales
Francis Towne
A View on the Banks of the Dee above Llangollen
A View on the Banks of the Dee above Llangollen
Francis Towne
A View of the Bay of Naples with the Island of Capri
A View of the Bay of Naples with the Island of Capri
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Comment
This is a copy of a sketch Towne made in Rome in February 1781 (FT199). Towne made a further copy for Mrs Fortescue of Buckland House, now lost (FT429).
The presence of pin holes in the mount are interesting, as they indicate that it was once pinned up for display. Perhaps Towne made the watercolour speculatively and displayed it like this in Exeter for sale? Or perhaps this is how Thomas Snow displayed it. It is a somewhat simplified and more schematic version of the source drawing, lacking some of the vitality of the earlier work.