Gaspard Dughet, 'View of the Roman Countryside, possibly Tivoli', about 1670
About the work
Overview
A wild, mountainous landscape stretches out before us, with sharp snowy peaks silhouetted against the sky. In the middle distance, just beyond the rushing waterfall, a town – complete with campanile (bell towers) and classical buildings – perches on a hilltop. In the foreground, a handful of figures and two dogs rest beside the dusty path that weaves through the landscape.
Gaspard Dughet may have intended this to be a view of Tivoli, a hillside town about 20 miles north-east of Rome. It was visited by generations of artists who came to paint the town’s classical buildings, as well as the terraced gardens of the nearby Villa d’Este. Another painting by Dughet, in which some of Tivoli’s buildings appear in an imaginary landscape, is also in the National Gallery’s collection.
This painting’s dimensions are unusual, the canvas being twice as wide as it is tall. It may once have been part of a decorative scheme, probably intended to hang above a doorway.
Key facts
Details
- Full title
- View of the Roman Countryside, possibly Tivoli
- Artist
- Gaspard Dughet
- Artist dates
- 1615 - 1675
- Date made
- about 1670
- Medium and support
- oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- 71.1 × 166.9 cm
- Acquisition credit
- Bequeathed by Lord Farnborough, 1838
- Inventory number
- NG161
- Location
- Not on display
- Collection
- Main Collection
- Previous owners
Provenance
Additional information
Text extracted from the ‘Provenance’ section of the catalogue entry in Humphrey Wine, ‘National Gallery Catalogues: The Seventeenth Century French Paintings’, London 2001; for further information, see the full catalogue entry.
Exhibition history
-
2021Creating a National CollectionSouthampton City Art Gallery28 May 2021 - 2 September 2021
Bibliography
-
1946Martin Davies, National Gallery Catalogues: French School, London 1946
-
1957Martin Davies, National Gallery Catalogues: French School, 2nd edn (revised), London 1957
-
2001Wine, Humphrey, National Gallery Catalogues: The Seventeenth Century French Paintings, London 2001
-
2001
C. Baker and T. Henry, The National Gallery: Complete Illustrated Catalogue, London 2001
About this record
If you know more about this painting or have spotted an error, please contact us. Please note that exhibition histories are listed from 2009 onwards. Bibliographies may not be complete; more comprehensive information is available in the National Gallery Library.