Explore Collections

You are here:
CollectionsOnline
/
Capriccio of a group of stone blocks forming a fountain, with an antique lidless sarcophagus serving as the basin, being used by three washerwomen with baskets. In the background is a pilastered colonnade.
Browse
Reference number
Adam vol.57/146
Purpose
Capriccio of a group of stone blocks forming a fountain, with an antique lidless sarcophagus serving as the basin, being used by three washerwomen with baskets. In the background is a pilastered colonnade.
Aspect
Perspective
Inscribed
Inscribed in ink 146
Signed and dated
- Undated, probably 1755 or 1756.
Medium and dimensions
Pencil, pen, brown wash280 x 221
Hand
Charles-Louis Clérisseau
Notes
Charles-Louis Clérisseau's composition of stone blocks here is similar to that of antique fragments in his drawing in Adam vol.57/140, and to other drawings by Robert Adam in Adam vol.57/137 and 57/153. Washerwomen using a sarcophagus as their basin is a traditional motif found in views of the antique, and can be found in several similar compositions in Adam volume 56 (see for example Adam vol.56/92).
Level
Drawing
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