The Trevi Fountain, Rome

Whereas the fountain is subsidiary to the church in Roberts' view Piazza Navona, it is his principal focus in the present drawing. Already in the 19th Century the Trevi was an unmissable tourist attraction, into which it was traditional to throw a coin in order to return sometime to Rome. The design is based on Bernini's ideas, with rocks, giant Tritons and Neptune in a winged chariot, the figures of Health and Abundance either side. This one was reworked by Roberts in 1859, as was his frequent practice, to make a more finished and detailed watercolour of an on-the-spot sketch. He reworked many of his Spanish watercolours in 1859 prior to their exhibition by Gambart and this may have prompted him to review other sketches too.

We are grateful to Krystyna Matyjaszkiewicz for her help in preparing this catalogue entry.