Maecenas' Villa, Tivoli

Details

Jacob More (1740-1793)
Maecenas' Villa, Tivoli
with inscription 'Jacob More...' (on fragment attached to reverse of backboard) and further inscribed 'Mecenna's [sic] Villa/at Tivoli' (on a fragment attached to reverse of backboard)
pencil and watercolour
20 x 28 in. (50.8 x 71.1 cm.)

Provenance

Anonymous sale; Sotheby's, London, 7 July 1977, lot 40 (one of a pair).

Literature

P.R. Andrew, 'Jacob More: Biography and a Checklist of Works', Walpole Society, LV, 1990, p. 169, no. B. 5. xxiv.

Exhibited

London, Fine Art Society, Watercolours 1780-1950, 1978, no. 98.

Special notice

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 15% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.

Lot Essay

The villa of Maecenas at Tivoli was an incredibly popular subject for landscape painters because it was situated so dramatically at the top of the cascade. It also had a moral element, representing the very highest achievements of classical civilisation, but in its ruined state also signifying the decadence and decline of that culture. Born in 70BC, Maecenas was a cultured and well-educated man whose name has become a byword for a wealthy patron. He was most famous for his patronage of Virgil, who dedicated the Georgics to him, and who also encouraged Maecenas' support of Horace.

For a note on the artist see lot 3.

More from The Scottish Sale

View All