RSA Scottish Art
Hadrian’s Villa, Tivoli
 | Artist: Andrew Wilson |
| Title: Hadrian’s Villa, Tivoli | |
| Year: c. 1830 - 40 | |
| Medium: oil on canvas | |
| Dimensions: | |
| Suggested topic: | |
| Source: RSA | |
| View full screen image of this work | |
| Open print version of this work | |
| Description: Andrew Wilson worked not only as a landscape painter, but also purchased old-master paintings for Scottish public and private collections. This painting, Hadrian's Villa, Tivoli, shows the ruin of Emperor Hadrian's villa on the outskirts of Rome, a popular destination for visitors. Wilson has painted the scene using a variety of brushstrokes, with broad areas of pure colour in the background contrasting with fine detailed brushstrokes in the foreground. Some areas of the painting reflect Romantic ideas about landscape. For example, the rather “flowery” trees on the left and the fluffy cloud behind the mountain may indicate the importance of making a landscape look pretty rather than trying to replicate it exactly. The composition is directed from a high viewpoint, which leads the eye down and around into the landscape towards the setting sun. The light foreground and the sunset complement one another and are separated by a darker band of trees. The dark mountain on the right and the building on the left frame the scene and focus the gaze towards the distant hills and orange sky. The vertical lines in the painting help to break up the long horizontal lines across the centre. Wilson has painted the scene at sunset, giving the whole view a rose-tinted glow similar to photographs in the travel brochures of today. The mood of the painting is calm and luxurious, showing an idealised landscape in rich colours, with some figures on horseback. Ruins in themselves were often regarded as very attractive and worthy because of their historical associations. Do you think a painter would represent this scene in the same way today? Do you think the mood, method of execution or composition would be similar if this painting was made in the 21st century? | |
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