Dimensions: support: 737 x 965 mm
Copyright: CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 DEED, Photo: Tate
Editor: So, this is Richard Wilson’s "Tivoli," painted sometime in the 18th century. It's an oil on canvas, and it strikes me with how dark and moody it is, despite the golden light. What stands out to you? Curator: Considering the painting's likely consumption by a wealthy British audience, I see a commentary on the raw materials, specifically the Italian landscape itself, as a commodity. How does Wilson transform this space into something easily digested by the upper class? Editor: So, you're saying he's not just painting a place, but also repackaging it for a specific consumer? Curator: Precisely. Think about the labor involved—from extracting pigments to framing the canvas—and how those processes contribute to the landscape's transformation into a desirable object. How might the painting's materiality reinforce or subvert notions of high art versus craft? Editor: That's a really interesting perspective. I'll definitely look at landscapes differently from now on. Thanks!
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This picture formed part of the Turner Bequest so certainly belonged to him. It is a replica of Wilson's picture in the Dulwich College Gallery which passed from the Desenfans collection to that of Sir Francis Bourgeois in 1807. Turner made a study of Wilson's art and technique when learning to paint himself, so a question of attribution hangs over it - especially as contemporary visitors to his house observed that he hung works that looked like examples of Wilson and other painters, but were in fact by himself. The source of Turner's 'Wilsons' is not known, but he was on good terms with his pupil, Joseph Farington. Gallery label, August 2001
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