A Capriccio of Roman Ruins

1727/1729

Marco Ricci

Associated Names
Marco Ricci

Artist, Venetian, 1676 - 1729

This painting shows classical ruins illuminated by sunlight. A bright blue sky is visible beyond aged red and gray arches covered with green plants. On the right is a tall gray statue of a horse and rider surrounded by broken columns. In the center, people stand and sit among the ruins, gesturing to each other. On the left, water drips down the steps of a large carved fountain with a broken roof. More statues, stairs, and arches are visible in the distance.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    gouache on kidskin

  • Credit Line

    Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund

  • Dimensions

    overall: 30.9 × 45.3 cm (12 3/16 × 17 13/16 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1982.38.2

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

(Galerie van Diemen & Co., Berlin) 1920; Stichting Nederlandsch Kunstbezit, no. 1216; (sale, Sotheby's, London, 25 March 1982, no. 54); acquired 1982 (via David Tunick) by NGA.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1983

  • Graphics Survey Exhibition, National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C., September 1983.

1994

  • The Glory of Venice: Art in the Eighteenth Century, Royal Academy of Arts, London, and National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1994, 102, 106, 488, no. 32 (repro. p. 106, color)(entry by Margherita Giacometti).

2014

  • The Poetry of Light - La poesia della luce: Venetian Drawings from the National Gallery of Art, Museo Correr, Venice, Venice, 2014 - 2015, no. 53.

Bibliography

1991

  • Scarpa Sonino, Annalisa. Marco Ricci. Milan, 1991: 144, 334 (cat. T10, with incorrect location).

1994

  • The Glory of Venice. Exh. cat. Royal Academy of Arts, London; National Gallery of Art, Washington; Museo del Settecento Veneziano - Ca'Rezzonico, Venice; Gallerie dell'Accademia, Venice, 1994-1995: 488, no. 32.

2000

  • Kemp, Martin, The Oxford History of Western Art. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 2000: 228, no. 324.

Inscriptions

on verso labels of Galerie van Diemen & Stichting Nederlandsch; label inscribed: BU. ZII / 48 /Sch.; on verso ingraphite: Hubert Robert [gno.?] Robert des Ruines

Wikidata ID

Q64594896

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