Aqua Claudia, near Tivoli

Details

James William Giles, R.S.A. (1801-1870)
Aqua Claudia, near Tivoli
signed and dated 'J.Giles 1856' (centre left) and further signed, inscribed and dated: 'N^o. 3. Acqua [sic] Claudia, Near Tivoli. J.Giles R.S.A 62 Bon Accord Street Aberdeen' (on an old label on the reverse)
oil on panel, in an arched frame
12 x 30 in. (30.5 x 76.2 cm.)

Provenance

Sir Philip & Lady Magnus; Sotheby's, Stokesay Court, Shropshire, 29 September 1994, lot 618 (£2,185).

Exhibited

Edinburgh, Royal Scottish Academy, 1857, no. 263.

Special notice

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 17.5% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis

Lot Essay

James Giles was born in Aberdeenshire, the son of a respected local artist. Following his father's early death he maintained his mother and sister through his painting, from the age of thirteen. Whilst still a teenager he toured the Continent and visited Italy. The present picture, with its grand scale - the figures diminished by the landscape - and beautiful ruins silhouetted against the sun, shows how Giles absorbed the precepts of classical landscape painting. He exhibited widely throughout his career, and his painting The Weird Wife is in the National Gallery of Scotland.

The Aqua Claudia is one of most important Roman aqueducts; it was begun by the Emperor Caligula (37-41 AD) in 38 AD and completed by his successor Claudio (41-45 AD).

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