Inscribed
Inscribed in ink on drawing 67
Signed and dated
- Undated, probably 1755 - 56
Medium and dimensions
Pen, pencil, watercolour237 x 265
Hand
Charles-Louis Clérisseau
Notes
The subtle handling of watercolour and the sophisticated use of light are more typical of Charles-Louis Clérisseau (1721-1820) than Robert Adam, a superiority that Adam reluctantly accepted. He wrote in February 1755 that Clérisseau had '... the utmost knowledge of architecture, of perspective, and of designing and colouring I ever saw or had any conception of. He raised my ideas. He created emulation and fire in my breast.' (J. Fleming, Robert Adam and His Circle in Edinburgh & Rome, London, 1962, p.135). The use of partially-submerged columns can be found in Clérisseau's views of the Fora of Nerva and Augustus, Rome, which may have been derived in turn from Giovanni Battista Piranesi (1720-78) (see T. McCormick, Charles-Louis Clérisseau and the Genesis of Neo-Classicism, Cambridge, Massachusetts and London, 1990, p.10). The belvedere may be compared with similar ones in Adam's Roman views in volume 57, such as Adam vol.57/90. There are similar compositions in volume 56, and a preliminary chalk sketch in Adam vol.55/75 with the remains of perspective lines, which is probably also in Clérisseau's hand.
Level
Drawing
Exhibition history
The Adam Brothers in Rome: Drawings from the Grand Tour, Sir John Soane's Museum, London, 25 September 2008 - 14 February 2009
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