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Entrance to the Grotto of Posillipo, Naples

image courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art | CC0 1.0

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Date

1778-1779

Artist

John Warwick Smith (1749-1831)

Collection

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Description

This Roman tunnel cut through the rock near Naples provides access to coastal towns to the west and was a favorite subject for artists. Smith lived in Italy between 1776 and 1781, supported by George Greville, 2nd earl of Warwick, and worked closely with fellow Britons William Pars, Thomas Jones and Francis Towne to develop the expressive potential of watercolor. Of the group, Smith enjoyed the highest reputation as a colorist and here applied warm washes to delineate steep stone cliffs bordering the approach to the so-called Grotto, and deeper tones to describe indentations left by quarriers. He also describes a memorial plaque in the left foreground. A more developed version of the scene, formerly owned by the noted collector Paul Oppé, was engraved and published in Smith’s "Select Views in Italy" (1792).

Image Licence

CC0 1.0

Image Credit

image courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Location

Crypta Neapolitana, Naples, Italy

Country

Tags

Caves
Cliffs
Monuments
Roads

Category

Buildings & Architecture

Glossary
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© 2024 Watercolour World | Technology by The Museum Platform

© 2024 Watercolour World | Technology by The Museum Platform