Paintings Collection

Richard Wilson (1713 - 1782)

Cicero and his two friends, Atticus and Quintus, at his villa at Arpinum

A1284; oil on canvas; 91.5 x 129.7 cm

RW

Prov: ?Sir John Smith William Fitzhugh Revd W.A. Fitzhugh Christie's, 22 May 1843, lot 79 (155 gns) Atherstone John Rushout, 2nd Baron Northwick (1770-1859), Thirlestaine House, Cheltenham; his son Phillips, 12 August 1859, lot 1182 Farrer Colonel N. Ba

Accepted by HM Government in lieu of Inheritance tax and allocated to the Ashmolean Museum, 2007.; WA2007.155

After his return from Italy in 1757 Wilson painted carefully-designed landscapes with Italian and classical elements, often with literary references.

This landscape of 1769-70 illustrates a passage from Cicero