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Creator:
John Robert Cozens, 1752–1797
Title:
Lake of Vico Between Rome and Florence
Date:
1783
Materials & Techniques:
Watercolor and graphite on thick, slightly textured, cream laid paper
Dimensions:
Sheet: 10 1/8 x 14 13/16 inches (25.7 x 37.6 cm)
Inscription(s)/Marks/Lettering:

Inscribed on verso in pen and brown ink, upper left: "17989." in pen and brown ink, center: "Lake of Vico. between Rome and Florence."; in graphite, center: "Lago di Vico"

Credit Line:
Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection
Copyright Status:
Public Domain
Accession Number:
B1975.3.1002
Classification:
Drawings & Watercolors
Collection:
Prints and Drawings
Subject Terms:
clouds | Grand Tour | lake | landscape | mountains | trees
Associated Places:
Florence | Italy | Rome | Vico, Lago di
Access:
Accessible by appointment in the Study Room [Request]
Note: The Study Room is open by appointment. Please visit the Study Room page on our website for more details.
Link:
https://collections.britishart.yale.edu/catalog/tms:8861
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In 1782 Beckford took Cozens along on a tour of Italy. This view of the volcanic lake of Vico belonged to a set of almost one hundred watercolors that Cozens made for Beckford as souvenirs after their return home in 1783. By sticking to a palette of pale greens, blues, and grays, Cozens strikes a melancholy note. His affective use of watercolor relies on a series of accomplished technical effects: sharp shifts from light to dark, small staccato patches of pigment, limpid washes over the granular paper surface, and the blotting of wet washes to create random textures. The result is a landscape of unusual expressive qualities.

Gallery label for Great British Watercolors from the Paul Mellon Collection at the Yale Center for British Art (Yale Center for British Art, 2008-06-09 - 2008-08-17)
Jones and Cozens were briefly reunited when the latter made his second continental trip. In 1782 Beckford took Cozens with him on a tour of Italy that proved to be an unfortunate and acrimonious journey for all concerned. Beckford was precocious, temperamental, and notoriously extravagant. He was also extraordinarily cultivated and was emerging as one of Europe's greatest connoisseurs. On the Lake of Vico belongs to a set of almost one hundred watercolors Cozens made for Beckford as souvenirs after their return home in 1783. When they reached Vico, another volcanic lake on the outskirts of Viterbo, Cozens chose to sketch from the lake's western bank, looking over the water towards the village of Capraro on the hilltops opposite.g Once again, the site's classical resonances were no longer of prime importance to Cozens. Instead the emphasis is on color as a vehicle for conveying meaning. By sticking to his favored palette of pale greens, blues, and grays, Cozens struck a melancholy note throughout the view, where atmosphere is felt weighing on every part of the landscape. This affective use of color relies on a series of accomplished technical effects: sharp shifts from light to dark, small staccato patches of pigment, limpid washes over granular paper, and the blotting of wet washes to create random textures. The result is a landscape that no longer needs to be read and deciphered through emblematic or narrative elements, but one that is appreciated for its affective and expressive qualities.

Matthew Hargraves

Hargraves, Matthew, and Scott Wilcox. Great British Watercolors: from the Paul Mellon collection. New Haven: Yale Center for British Art, 2007, p. 50, no. 19

Great British Watercolors from the Paul Mellon Collection at the Yale Center for British Art (Yale Center for British Art, 2008-06-09 - 2008-08-17) [YCBA Objects in the Exhibition] [Exhibition Description]

Great British Watercolors from the Paul Mellon Collection at the Yale Center for British Art (The State Hermitage Museum, 2007-10-23 - 2008-01-13) [YCBA Objects in the Exhibition] [Exhibition Description]

Great British Watercolors from the Paul Mellon Collection at the Yale Center for British Art (Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 2007-07-11 - 2007-09-30) [YCBA Objects in the Exhibition] [Exhibition Description]

Alexander and J. R. Cozens (Art Gallery of Ontario, 1987-01-30 - 1987-03-29) [YCBA Objects in the Exhibition]

Classic Ground - British Artists and the Landscape of Italy, 1740-1830 (Yale Center for British Art, 1981-07-29 - 1981-09-20) [YCBA Objects in the Exhibition]

The Art of Alexander and John Robert Cozens (Yale Center for British Art, 1980-09-17 - 1980-11-16) [YCBA Objects in the Exhibition]

C.F. (Charles Francis) Bell, The Drawings And Sketches of John Robert Cozens, A Catalogue With An Historical Introduction , Volume of the Walpole Society, vol. 23, 1934-1935, p. 48, no. 163, N12 W35 A1 (LC)+ Oversize (YCBA) [YCBA]

Duncan Bull, Classic ground : British artists and the landscape of Italy, 1740-1830, , Yale Center for British Art, New Haven, 1981, pp. 6, 33-34, no. 27, ND1354.4 B85 (YCBA) [YCBA]

Royal Academy of Arts, The Girtin collection : watercolours by Thomas Girtin and other masters : Royal Academy of Arts Diploma Gallery, London, 1962, p. 5, no. 22, ND1928 .G57 1962 (LC) (YCBA) [YCBA]

Maria Delores Sanchez-Jauregul, The English prize, the capture of the Westmorland, an episode of the grand tour , Yale University Press, New Haven, 2012, pp. 122, 123, fig. 80, N9135 .E54 2012 + OVERSIZE (YCBA) [YCBA]

Kim Sloan, Alexander and John Robert Cozens, the poetry of landscape , Yale University Press, New Haven and London, 1986, pp. 138, 140, pl. 152, NJ18 C83 S56 (YCBA) [YCBA]

Andrew Wilton, The Art of Alexander and John Robert Cozens, Yale Center for British Art, New Haven, 1980, p. 49, no. 131, pl. 53, NJ18 C83 W55 OVERSIZE (YCBA) [YCBA]

Yale Center for British Art, Great British watercolors : from the Paul Mellon Collection, Yale University Press, New Haven, 2007, pp. 50-51, no. 19, ND1928 .Y35 2007 (LC)+ Oversize (YCBA) [YCBA]


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