A fountain and steps of a villa c. 1718-19
Pen and ink and wash | 36.4 x 30.3 cm (sheet of paper) | RCIN 905877
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A pen and ink and wash drawing of a garden, with two rusticated columns at far right in shadow, a staircase, and a fountain with decorative sculpture set in a niche against a wall. Inscribed above the garden wall with the number 7. Inscribed below: 4 Telari p. parte e' sopra il sesto taglio i prospetto primo d. ditro il 7[..]no.
Marco Ricci worked as a stage designer with Antonio Pellegrini for Owen McSwiny in England, returning to Venice in 1716. In Venice he designed sets for the Teatro Sant'Angelo, where his uncle Sebastiano Ricci was director, and for the Teatro San Grisostomo. His name appears in libretti for productions in 1718, 1719 and 1726, but the detail is rather scant and it is difficult to identify particular drawings with particular operas. This drawing might represent the 'loco contiguo alle mura del Giardino' in Fortunato Chelleri's Amalasunta (1719), but other operas also included garden scenes.
Joseph Smith, a keen opera lover who was married to the soprano Catherine Tofts, owned 55 of Marco Ricci's drawings for the stage. Stage scenery was temporary and does not survive, so it is difficult to know how the designs would have been translated into sets. The inscription here suggests that it was made of 4 canvasses, and gives instructions about how they might be aligned.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 and wash
Measurements
36.4 x 30.3 cm (sheet of paper)
Object type(s)