“At the palace are two fine oval pictures of Sal. Rosa, the subjects, Banditti, very highly finished, and painted with great force and spirit. A picture of Boys, very good, by Poussin.
“The City of Pompeio, 15 miles from Naples, which was overwhelmed by the eruption of Vesuvius about fifteen hundred years ago (at which Pliny, the elder, lost his life), and which was discovered 15 years ago, seems to me to have been small, at least the houses, rooms, and the street which remain indicate. They have, by the king’s order, dug a good deal of the city, but much remains inveloped in a loose kind of Lava. Parts of buildings intire, with the ornamental paintings on the walls perfect, in style not much unlike some Chinese painting I have seen, together with the Sculls & bones of those that perished there, make a very interesting scene. There is to be seen in one of the rooms in which is fixed a stone vessel for washing in, an intire skeleton of a woman who perished at her work. Whatever is found here, curious or valuable, is deposited in the King’s Museum.
“Herculaneum is at the foot of Vesuvius on which Portici now stands, is 6 miles from Naples, was destroyed probably by the same eruption as Pompeio, the Lava which overwhelmned it is much more hard and compact than that at Pompeio, owing perhaps to its vicinity to the Mountain. The theatre is the only part which remains open, and that is partially so, that one has but little idea of the construction of the whole. They have dug much at Herculaneum and found many paintings & other antiquities which are at the Museum. As Portici stands upon Herculaneum they dug but little at a time, & when they got out the valuables filled up the parts again, that the City of Portici might not be endangered.
“The Museum is the most interesting place I have seen, as it is filled with the ornamental and useful utensils of Herculaneum and Pompeio. Glad I am to find from the observations I have made in these places, that the present age is not so degenerated, either in size or morals as some imagine. The sculls of the old Romans were the size of the present, and from the Chirurgical instruments which are in the Museum, they were liable to the same disorders, indeed there is no doubt but Nature was always the same & will be so ad infinitum. But to return to the contents of the Museum. There are many Bronze heads, one of Seneca, very capital, the rest much inferior. The figures not of the first-class. There is a Satyr lying on a skin of wine, snapping his thumb & finger, the expression very good; also two wrestlers in very fine actions. A sitting figure of a Mercury, sweet attitude. Sculpture good....
“Left Rome the 10th of June, 1775, came to Florence on the 19th, by the way of Narni, Terni, Perugio, &c., 180 miles; part of it a most delightful and picturesque country, of which Claudio has availed himself much. Florence is a pleasant City, the Arno with its Bridges add greatly to its beauty. The one consisting of 3 arches only, is very beautiful. There are a few fine things in Art. The Venus, the Boxers, the little Apollo, the Dancing Faun & the Grinder. Titian’s Venus, Florence, did not answer my expectation; when one has seen Rome, other places suffer by the comparison. Left Florence 4th July, passed over the Appenines, a very wild country, the surface of which is the most broken and irregular I ever saw. Came to Bologna, which is 66 miles, on the 6th. Bologna is a large & well-built City. Its piazzas are very spacious & beautiful, and not less convenient at all times of the year. In the winter it defends you from wet, in summer from heat, which is very great here. At St Agnatis is a picture, by Domenichino, of the murder of that Saint, not good. The Expression weak, the lights of bad shades & not well combined. At the Sampiere Palace is a picture of Guido of St. Peter & St. Paul in his first manner, very forcibly painted. St. Cæcilia, by Raphael, in St. Iovani in Monte, is much damaged and not so fine as I expected to have found it, the figure of St. Paul very fine. A large picture of Ludivico Caracci & one of the woman taken in adultery, some parts of it very good. The birth of St. John, by ditto, very indifferent. At the Carthusian Convent, which is a very elegant one, is the famous picture of Lud. Car. of St. John the Baptist, the character & expression of St. John’s head seems to have been very fine, the other parts of the picture not very good, the whole is much damaged. At the same Convent is a good picture of Guercino. Left Bologna on the 9th and embarked for Venice, had a very fatiguing passage thro’ the Canals, arrived at Venice the 12th, was highly entertained with its first appearance, a City standing in the sea. The chief works in painting are by Titian, Paul Veronese and Tintoret. The large picture by Paul Ver. of the marriage in Canaan has an ill effect altogether, it is a confused multitude. The personages are chiefly portraits, and he has introduced Titian and other Artists his friends as musicians in the centre of the picture; there are in it some heads well painted. In St. Maria Maggiore is the famous picture of St. John in the Wilderness, by Titian, this picture, like most of Titian’s, is grown very brown & dark, it seems to have been finely painted in a broad manner; the drawing is good, as is the action, & the head has a good character. The picture by Do. of the martyrdom of St. Peter, in St. Giovanni e paolo is much damaged, has been a very fine picture, the actions & expressions very natural & spirited. Salute, 3 compartments in the ceiling, by Titian, of David & Goliah, Abraham offering his Son Isaac, and another which I don’t know the subject; all these are finely painted and designed in a Mic. Angelo like style. Church of the Ferari, two Altar pieces by Titian, the one on wood, of the assumption of the Virgin, finely painted, but the colouring is become quite brown, ’tis composed in a sublime manner. St. Marciliano, in the Sacristy Tobia & the Angel by Titian, has been a fine picture, but is much damaged, the Angel fine character. School of St. Roch, on the Stairs is a picture of the Annunciation, by Titian; sweet idea of the Virgin. Jesuits Church, St. Laurence’s martyrdom, by Titian, the figure of the Saint is very grand, the picture is become very dark, and I believe never had the effect of fire. Saw in Venice many pictures of Paul Veronese & Tintoret. Left Venice the 19th, embarked for Padua, had a very agreeable passage by water, the country is well cultivated and populous, along the sides of the Canals and river are a great number of handsome houses, which for miles have the effect of one town. We arrived at Padua, which is 27 miles from Venice, about 7 o’clock the same evening. In the sacristy of the Duomo at Padua is a very fine Madonna & Child, by Titian, sweetly painted, & in good preservation. The head of the Virgin is lovely, & the child is beautifully coloured & painted with more than usual care. Saw several Buildings by Palladio, in very good taste. In the antique Gothic Church, anciently called Maria Maggiore, now St. Antonio, here lies the body of the great Saint in a very fine Altar, ’tis a fine Church with three or four Domes. The great Saloon is a hundred & ten paces long, & eighty wide, the roof is of wood of an Eliptical form. There are great numbers of Giotto’s pictures here. The Room has a noble effect. Left Padua the 20th, at Mezzo Giorno set off for Vicenza, arrived there at night, which is eighteen miles, the next morning set off for Verona, which is 30 miles, where we arrived at night. At Verona is an Amphitheatre, not comparable to that of Rome, but more perfect, having the seats of such part of the building as remains entire. In the center of it is erected a wooden Theatre where they act by daylight. In the Church of St. George is a picture of the martyrdom of that St., by Paulo Veronese, ’tis in good condition, but slightly painted, & in other respects nothing extraordinary. The next morning left Verona & arrived at Mantua at night, which is 25 miles, there’s an Academy for Arts & Sciences lately built, elegant & upon a good plan. Left Mantua on Sunday, 23rd, got to Parma on Monday morning. Here is the famous picture of Correggio. In St. Sepulchre is a Holy family, by Correggio, but so indifferent I could scarce believe it his. The figure of Joseph is as poorly drawn and the drapery as ill set as anything I ever saw, in short there’s nothing good in the picture, nor do I like Correggio in his great works; his figures are but ill drawn, the heads appear large and want character. Left Parma on Thursday morning, got to Piacentia that night, which is 36 miles, it was here that Hannibal, after having passed the Alps for the first time engaged the Romans. Left Piacentia the next morning. Got that night to Avougara, which is 32 miles. The next, 29th July, dined at Allessandria. On the 30th at noon got to Turin. ’Tis curious to be crying out with heat at the foot of the Alps, whose tops are covered with snow. In the King’s palace at Turino is a very large Collection of pictures, many of which are very fine. A man in armour on horseback, as large as life, by Vandicke, very fine. The armour is of dark rich colour, full of beautiful reflections, & the lights most spiritedly touched. By Ditto is a smallish picture of a Madona & Child, the heads very sweet, but the Body & legs of the Child, not fine. A fine Head by Rembrant. Here are a great number of Gerard Dow, very fine, among which is a composition of four or five figures of the Doctor examining his patients. This picture is so wonderfully clear & brilliantly coloured, so astonishingly finished, that it seems to me to be perfection in that style of painting. Several charming pictures of Da. Teniers of Boors, and one piece of witchcraft or Incantation, all delightfully painted with such sober clearness and touched with such truth and Spirit, that one’s pleased & surprized. I forgot to mention Van Dick’s picture of King Charles’ 3 children, which is a capital one, the youngest has great relief without shadow, and such a sweet childish expression as I never before saw. The composition is simple, unaffected, & fine, so is the light & shadow, but the keeping is strong. The whole is very harmonious and has great effect. There is a reddish brown dog wonderfully painted, position fine, & accords charmingly with the fine red drapery of the Boy by whom he stands. This drapery is finely painted the light lies on the body & hips, & graduates very sensibly downwards. The white sattin of the middle girl is much kept down, the little girl is in blue sattin, with gauze linen; several Landscapes by Botts & Berghem, very fine. A small historical picture, by Rembrant, an old head in it, of a most divine Character. Comondear Genevi Genevos at Turin, has a very good Collection of pictures, amongst which was a very fine half-length of a St., by Guido, in his first manner, it is well finished, at the same time spiritedly painted. The head has a fine character. Left Turin, which is one of the most uniform & best built Cities I have ever been in, on the first of August. Crossed the Alps in our way to Lyons, this country is truly sublime. At the foot of Mount Sennis we left our Carriages and took Mules to go over the mountain. Mrs. Wright with little Pop were carried in a chair by six men. We were three hours & half or 4 ascending the mountain, about two thirds of the way is pretty large plain, on which is a Lake about two miles over, here the sight was tremendous, the mountains still rising to an incredible height, hiding their lofty heads in the Clouds, which the winds now & then dissipating shewed partially their hoary towering craggy tops, here it was very cold, and so it was all through Savoy. This Country is mountainous & some parts picturesque. From thence to Lyons is a flat country.”
There is no further account of Wright’s proceedings after crossing the Alps on the 1st of August, 1775. Wright, his wife, and child, arrived at his brother Richard’s, at Derby, on September 26th, 1775.
The little Anna Romana[20] was, with her cousin[21] (who was a month old on that day), christened at St. Michael’s Church, each brother being godfather to the other’s child, and their two sisters being godmothers to both. Little “Pop” was a lively, active child, and did not approve of the proceedings, as she slapped the clergyman in the face.
My own opinion as to the effect of Wright’s visit to Italy is that it increased his knowledge, widened his views of art, and enlarged his style; but this is a very different one from that expressed by the authors of “A Century of Painters.” As this book has a position of considerable authority, I think it right to state my total disagreement with what appears to me the unjust opinion contained in the following extract from Messrs. Redgrave’s work:—
“In 1773 he married, and took that opportunity to visit Italy, where he remained two years, studying, it is said, the works of the great masters, especially those of Michael Angelo, from which he made many copies on a large scale. But however much the works in the Sistine Chapel may have impressed him at the time, they had little influence on his subsequent practice.”
The sketches here alluded to are thirty-six in number, bound in vellum, with “Joseph Wright, Rome, 1774,” written on the side by himself. The book measures 20 × 13 inches; the drawings are outlined by the pen, and broad washes of Indian ink effect the light and shade of the drapery. They are done in a bold and masterly manner, and convey a very good impression of the grandeur of the originals. There is a family tradition that Wright injured his health by over-work when in Rome, and that, for greater ease when working these drawings, he lay upon his back on the cold floor of the Sistine Chapel, and contracted an affection of the liver, which, as years went on, caused him much pain, and prevented him from following his profession for months at a time. On comparing these sketches with various of his pictures, the influence of Michael Angelo upon Wright, especially in design, is evident; and in other respects—such as his choice of subjects, and method of handling—his art changed very much after his return from Italy.