The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 16, 2024

Italian Landscape

Italian Landscape

c. 1790–92
(British, 1752–1797)
England, London, 18th century
watercolor over graphite
Sheet: 48.7 x 66.9 cm (19 3/16 x 26 5/16 in.)
Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. Fund 1997.137
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

John Robert Cozens's watercolors became widely known after the doctor who treated him during a mental breakdown in 1794 enlisted two other artists to produce copies for circulation.

Description

During the 18th century, views of Italy and the Continent were in great demand among British aristocrats on the Grand Tour. Cozens journeyed to Italy and Switzerland twice in his career, making pencil and wash sketches from which he later derived highly finished watercolors for various patrons. The artist’s somber palette, limited to muted greens, grays, and blues, produces a melancholy, hazy effect in this landscape. The site depicted here has thus far proved unidentifiable and may be an amalgamation of memory and imagination. The left portion of the composition relates to another watercolor depicting a view of Velletri, a town outside of Rome; the cottage and trees in the right foreground seem English, and the central plain and winding river appear to be pure invention.
  • ?-?
    Mr. Eden
    ?-?
    Mr. Deverell
    ?-?
    Mrs. Deverell
    ?-?
    William Eden
    ?-1979
    Norman D. Newell, New York, NY
    1979
    (his sale, Christie's, London, December 13, 1979, no. 25)
    after 1979-before 1996
    Private Collection
    1996
    (sale, Sotheby's, London, November 14, 1996, no. 59)
    probably 1996-1997
    (Spink-Leger Pictures, London, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH)
    1997-
    Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
    Provenance Footnotes
    1 According to old label attached to the backboard written in William Eden's hand.
    2 As The Property of a Lady.
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    Bell, C.F. and T. Girtin. "The Drawings and Sketches of John Robert Cozens." Walpole Society 23 (1935): 1-80. Mentioned: p. 80, no. 439-II
    Exhibition of Watercolour Drawings by J.R. Cozens and J.S. Cotman. Exh. Cat. Manchester: Whitworth Art Gallery, 1937. Mentioned: no. 76
    Coronation Exhibition. Exh. Cat. Newcastle-upon-Tyne: Laing Art Gallery, 1953. Mentioned: no. 31
    Cleveland Museum of Art, “Major African Sculpture, Recent Mark Tansey Painting, and Other Works of Art Enter CMA Collection,” September 16, 1997, Cleveland Museum of Art Archives. archive.org
    DeGrazia, Diane, and Carter E. Foster. Master Drawings from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Exh. Cat. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2000. Mentioned: pp. 186-87, 294, no. 76; Reproduced: p. 187
    Lemonedes, Heather. British Drawings: The Cleveland Museum of Art. Exh. Cat. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2013. Mentioned: pp. 42-43, 144, no. 10; Reproduced: p. 43
    Provenance Footnotes
    1 According to old label attached to the backboard written in William Eden's hand.
    2 As The Property of a Lady.
  • British Drawings from the Cleveland Museum of Art . The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 10-May 26, 2013).
    Master Drawings from the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 27-October 17, 2000); The Morgan Library & Museum, New York, NY (May 23-August 19, 2001); Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Houston, TX (October 14, 2001-January 6, 2002).
    Coronation Exhibition. Laing Art Gallery, Newcastle-upon-Tyne (1953).
    Watercolour Drawings by J.R. Cozens and J.S. Cotman. Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester (October 2 - October 30, 1937).
    Provenance Footnotes
    1 According to old label attached to the backboard written in William Eden's hand.
    2 As The Property of a Lady.
  • {{cite web|title=Italian Landscape|url=false|author=John Robert Cozens|year=c. 1790–92|access-date=16 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
    Provenance Footnotes
    1 According to old label attached to the backboard written in William Eden's hand.
    2 As The Property of a Lady.

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1997.137