Joseph Wright of Derby, 1734–1797, British, active in Italy (1773–75)
Title:
Lake Albano
Date:
1790 to 1792
Materials & Techniques:
Oil on canvas
Dimensions:
14 1/4 × 21 1/2 inches (36.2 × 54.6 cm)
Credit Line:
Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection
Copyright Status:
Public Domain
Accession Number:
B1981.25.717
Gallery Label:
This small landscape, and its pendant, Lake Nemi (B1981.25.716), was probably made in the early 1790s, some fifteen years after Wright’s Italian tour of 1773 to 1775. To the left of the composition, framing the lake is a Claudean tree, and to the right, in the Alban hills, a modified representation of Castel Gandolfo, the papal palace designed by Carlo Maderno (1556-1629) as a retreat from Rome. Lake Albano is depicted here in the cool early morning light, while its pendant, Lake Nemi, is bathed in a warm evening glow. Both compositions, Lake Nemi and Lake Albano, in their careful framing and alternating climatic conditions, reflect similar pairs by Richard Wilson. Gallery label for Richard Wilson and the Transformation of European Landscape Painting (Yale Center for British Art, 2014-03-06 - 2014-06-01)
