A rocky stream, Italy

Formerly attributed to John Downman British, Welsh

ca. 1786–91

Not on view

In addition to landscapes, Woodforde painted portraits and histories, contributing, for example, to Boydell's Shakespeare Gallery and to Macklin's Bible. He worked in Italy from 1786 to 1791, based in Rome and spending time with his most important patron Sir Richard Colt Hoare, who built Stourhead. It was probably on an excursion into the Campagna that he came upon the scene depicted here. At the center of the sheet, a large rock stands beside a rushing stream, flanked by foliage and surmounted by a small suspension bridge. An Italianate tower rises in the distance. Crisp pen lines combine with ink wash and subtle touches of watercolor to articulate a range of textures in a drawing that is at once descriptive and expressive.

Artwork Details

Overview

Provenance

Exhibition History

References

Title: A rocky stream, Italy
Artist: Samuel Woodforde (British, Castle Cary, Somerset 1763–1817 Ferrara, Italy)
Artist: Formerly attributed to John Downman (British, Eynesbury, Huntingdonshire 1749–1824 Wrexham, Wales)
Date: ca. 1786–91
Medium: Watercolor, pen and gray ink, over graphite
Dimensions: Sheet: 15 1/16 × 19 11/16 in. (38.2 × 50 cm)
Classification: Drawings
Credit Line: Purchase, Jeffrey L. Berenson Gift, 2003
Object Number: 2003.524
Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

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