A rock arch over a stream c. 1723-30
Pen and ink | 24.6 x 34.5 cm (sheet of paper) | RCIN 905844
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A pen and ink drawing of a rock-arch over a stream, with fishermen climbing rocks on the right, towards two women who look down on them. This drawing is probably directly preparatory for one of Marco Ricci's etchings, as the careful handling is reminiscent of his etching technique. A similar drawing is RCIN 905846.
Ricci took up etching in 1723, writing to Francesco Gabburri that he had just begun to make an intaglio plate. None of Marco Ricci’s etchings was published until a few months after his death, when twenty were issued by Carlo Orsolino; an album of these prints in the Royal Collection from Joseph Smith’s collection (in its original binding stamped with Smith’s coat of arms) contains a further etching, known in only one other impression.
A proof copy of an etching after this drawing, with the artist's pen corrections, is in the Remondini collection in the Museo Civico of Bassano, the town of Marco’s birth, though it was not included in the final published set. The collection contains unique impressions of another twelve etchings, together with multiple proof states (some corrected by the artist) of the twenty published plates, all of which must have been in Marco’s studio at his death.Provenance
Probably acquired in 1762 by George III from the collection of Joseph Smith, British Consul in Venice
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Medium and techniques
Pen and ink
Measurements
24.6 x 34.5 cm (sheet of paper)
Object type(s)