Lot Essay
Richard Payne Knight (1750-1824) inherited the Downton Estate in Herefordshire, where he built a castle from his own designs, inspired by the drawings of Claude Lorrain of which he himself had formed a collection of over 250 examples. He travelled extensively in Italy - first in 1767-7; again in 1777 in the company of Jakob Philipp Hackert, when he visited Sicily; and in 1785 when he stayed with Sir William Hamilton in Naples.
We are grateful to Nancy Ward Nielson for confirming the attribution to Giulio Cesare Procaccini.
We are grateful to Nancy Ward Nielson for confirming the attribution to Giulio Cesare Procaccini.