Ponte Molle

Maker Richard Wilson (British, 1714 - 1782)

Additional Title(s)

Ponte Molle, Monte Mario

ClassificationsDRAWINGS

Date1754

Mediumblack and white chalk on laid blue paper mounted on laid paper

Dimensions14 x 19 1/4 in. (35.6 x 48.9 cm.)

SignedSigned and dated in lower left of recto: R.W. Romae. 1754.

InscribedSigned and dated in lower left of recto: R.W. Romae. 1754. Inscribed in lower center of recto: Ponte Molle / Monte Mario Inscribed in lower right of recto: No. 4

Credit LineThe Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens

Status

Not on view

Label TextWhile traveling in Rome in 1752, Wilson received a commission from the Earl of Dartmouth for a series of drawings depicting views of the region. This image is one of sixty-eight he completed for the earl over the next two years. Taken from a high vantage point, it depicts the Milvian Bridge (Ponte Molle), with Monte Mario on the right. The dome of St. Peter’s Basilica juts up in the middle distance beyond a bend in the River Tiber. With its crumbling remnants of classical antiquity, like the toppled Ionic capitals littering the foreground, the drawing presents a nostalgic view of Rome, a modern city that was once capital of a vast empire (2022).

Bibliography

Picturing Nature

Object number57.7

Terms