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Creator:
Paul Sandby RA, 1731–1809
Title:

Italianate Landscape with Travelers, No. 1

Additional Title(s):

Italianate Landscape with Travellers

Date:
ca. 1765
Medium:
Watercolor and gouache over graphite on medium, slightly textured, cream laid paper
Dimensions:
Sheet: 14 3/4 x 21 3/16 inches (37.5 x 53.8 cm), Mount: 15 x 21 3/8 inches (38.1 x 54.3 cm)
Inscription(s)/Marks/Lettering:

Inscribed in graphite, verso, on mount, center right: "Jones Plurir"; in graphite, center: "Snowdon from Mount Gwynnant | P. Sandby"; in graphite, lower right; " Imp Plain Jones"

Credit Line:
Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection
Copyright Status:
Public Domain
Accession Number:
B1975.3.981
Classification:
Drawings & Watercolors
Collection:
Prints and Drawings
Subject Terms:
cattle | cows | lake | landscape | man | mountains | sheep | tower (building division) | town | travelers | trees | woman
Associated Places:
Europe | Italy
Access:
Accessible by appointment in the Study Room [Request]
Note: The Study Room is open by appointment. Please visit the Study Room page on our website for more details.
Link:
https://collections.britishart.yale.edu/catalog/tms:12335
Export:
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IIIF Manifest:
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Paul Sandby has traditionally been called “the father of English watercolor.” Although far from the first watercolor painter in England, he was certainly the first to achieve prominence. Trained as a military topographer, by the early 176os he had become a full-fledged landscape painter, regularly showing his work in the public exhibitions that were a new feature of the London art world. This imaginary landscape, modeled on Italian landscapes by the likes of Marco Ricci, shows Sandby appealing to the sophisticated taste of an elite audience who favored idealized continental views over mundane English topography.

Gallery label for Great British Watercolors from the Paul Mellon Collection at the Yale Center for British Art (Yale Center for British Art, 2008-06-09 - 2008-08-17)
As Sandby's reputation grew, he steadily shifted his work away from humble map-making towards a more refined form of topography. Italianate Landscape with Travelers, No.1 is one of a pair of ambitious watercolors Sandby produced in the early 1760s that reflect this shift in his profile. These views, evocative of the Italian countryside, were likely the result of a private commission; there is no certain evidence that they were ever shown publicly, despite being of exhibition quality. No doubt, Sandby's patron appreciated Italianate Landscape for its resemblance to such Old Masters as Gaspard Dughet (1615-1675) and more recent views such as those of Marco Ricci (1676-1729). After all, Sandby never left Britain, so his knowledge of Italian scenery came entirely through exposure to artists such as these, both in prints and paintings in British collections.

Matthew Hargraves

Hargraves, Matthew, and Scott Wilcox. Great British Watercolors: from the Paul Mellon collection. New Haven: Yale Center for British Art, 2007, p. 17, no. 4

Great British Watercolors from the Paul Mellon Collection at the Yale Center for British Art (Yale Center for British Art, 2008-06-09 - 2008-08-17) [YCBA Objects in the Exhibition]

Great British Watercolors from the Paul Mellon Collection at the Yale Center for British Art (The State Hermitage Museum, 2007-10-23 - 2008-01-13) [YCBA Objects in the Exhibition]

Great British Watercolors from the Paul Mellon Collection at the Yale Center for British Art (Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 2007-07-11 - 2007-09-30) [YCBA Objects in the Exhibition]

The Art of Paul Sandby (Yale Center for British Art, 1985-04-10 - 1985-06-23) [YCBA Objects in the Exhibition]

The Art of Paul Sandby, Yale Center for British Art, New Haven, Connecticut, 1985, pp. 58-59, no. 78, NJ18 Sa56 R62 (YCBA) [YCBA]

Yale Center for British Art, Great British watercolors : from the Paul Mellon Collection, Yale University Press, New Haven, 2007, pp. 17-19, no. 4, ND1928 .Y35 2007 (LC)+ Oversize (YCBA) [YCBA]


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