Exhibitions:

Title: Joseph Wright of Derby
Venue: Norwich Castle Museum
Dates: from 03/01/1959 to 01/02/1959

Related People

Joseph Wright of Derby (Artist)
Display Date: British, 1734 - 1797
Nationality: British
Biography: Artist.

A View of the Ponte Nomentano, near Rome

Date: c. 1789

Medium: Oil on canvas.

Object Type:	Painting
Dimensions:	Support: 1160 × 1280 mm (45 11/16 × 50 3/8 in.)
Description:	Accessions Register lists the painting as being by Joseph Wright when it was purchased from Charles Hadfield Ward of Robert Ward & Son, 12 Friar Gate, Derby. However, it was not included in Benedict Nicolson's catalogue raisonne of Wright's work, published in 1968. Subsequently recorded as inauthentic in the fine art card index. Viewed by Bendor Grosvenor in 2016 who considered it to have been overpainted. The painting was subsequently made the subject of an episode of the BBC Television programme, Britain's Lost Masterpieces, which aired in 2017. As part of this, the painting was sent to the conservator Simon Gillespie in London. His treatment of the painting uncovered much of Wright's original work, although sadly we have been unable to obtain a treatment report. Following treatment and research carried out by Bendor Grosvenor, Brian Allen (formerly of the Paul Mellon Centre) confirmed its authenticity as a painting by Wright of Derby. In August 2024, the painting was seen by Martin Postle and Jonny Yarker, both of whom doubted the attribution to Wright, in large part due to the choice of subject and the unsual viewpoint. Could this have been a failed experiment? It doesn't seem outside the bounds of possibility to imagine that the Wright who painted the Colosseum, choosing a view from within the overbearing structure, might have attempted something similar here with the Ponte Nomentano's crumbling form. That it was unfinished at his death (with Joseph Wright's executors, sold Christie's, London, 6 May 1801 (lot 20) £3.00 as 'A View of the Ponte Nomentano, near Rome, unfinished') might suggest it was an experiment he felt wasn't worth continuing with. Certainly there are passages of Wright-like handling in the painting of masonry, water, and clouds. [LB: 2024]
Provenance:	...; offered at Wright’s posthumous sale, Christie’s 6 May 1801 (lot 20, as ‘A View of the Ponte Nomentano, near Rome, unfinished’), whereupon purchased by 'Vernon' for £3.0.0; ... ; offered for sale by Charles Hadfield Ward, of Robert Ward & Son, Derby, for £70.00, and purchased by Derby Museums in 1950.
Viewing Status:	Contact Us
Item Ref:	1950-126