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Capriccio showing a garden building in the form of a three-bay triumphal arch, with a coffered niche inserted into the central opening. The building is set above a small lake surrounded by groups of trees.
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Reference number
Adam vol.56/41
Purpose
Capriccio showing a garden building in the form of a three-bay triumphal arch, with a coffered niche inserted into the central opening. The building is set above a small lake surrounded by groups of trees.
Aspect
Perspective
Inscribed
Inscribed in ink in Robert Adam's hand Rome / 1756; and in red ink 41
Signed and dated
- 1756
Medium and dimensions
Pencil and pen; grey and brown washes384 x 560, trimmed diagonally at all four corners
Hand
Robert Adam
Watermark
Two birds
Notes
The architectural composition here is close to a larger scheme at Adam vol.55/174, which is part of a series of similar academic exercises. Their source may lie in the various projects of the early eighteenth century for the Trevi Fountain in Rome, in particular that of Nicola Salvi, which would provide both the central niche and watery setting. Robert Adam was certainly impressed by the Trevi Fountain and owned a number of drawings of it (see Adam vol.56/55, vol.56/56 and vol.56/57). The landscape here is similar to those in the Adam sketchbook in the Pierpont Morgan Library, New York (1954.14) and other compositions such as that by Adam in the style of Jean-Baptiste Lallemand (1716-1803) in Adam vol.56/54, although the building here is in much closer focus. The trimmed corners of this drawing show it has been moved from a previous location; this trimming has also presumably removed Adam's signature that was almost certainly next to the date in the lower left corner.
Literature
Rep. Stillman 'Robert Adam's Grand Tour', Antiques, Vol.83, June 1963, p.672Bolton The Architecture of Robert and James Adam, 2 vols. (London, 1922), vol.I, p.24Robert Adam, The Creative Mind: from the sketch to the finished drawing, catalogue of exhibition at Sir John Soane's Museum, London, 1996, cat.7
Level
Drawing
Exhibition history
Robert Adam, The Creative Mind: from the Sketch to the Finished Drawing, Sir John Soane's Museum, 4 October 1996 - 1 March 1997; The Frick Collection, New York, December 1997 - April 1998; Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, May - June 1998; The Octagon Museum, Washington, July 1998 - January 1999; Scottish National Gallery, Edinburgh, February - March 1999
The Adam Brothers in Rome: Drawings from the Grand Tour, Sir John Soane's Museum, London, 25 September 2008 - 14 February 2009
The Adam Brothers in Rome: Drawings from the Grand Tour, Sir John Soane's Museum, London, 25 September 2008 - 14 February 2009
Digitisation of the Drawings Collection has been made possible through the generosity of the Leon Levy Foundation
If you have any further information about this object, please contact us: drawings@soane.org.uk