The Port at Terracina, Italy
The Port at Terracina, Italy
The Port at Terracina, ItalyWatercolour over pencil on laid paper17.7 by 25.2 cm., 7 by 9 ¾ in.Provenance:With Abbott and Holder;Russell Worby (1954-2025)Terracina is thirty-five miles south of Rome on the way to Naples. John `Warwick' Smith spent five years in Italy, from 1776 until 1781 at the expense of his patron the 2nd Earl of Warwick. While there, he sketched with Thomas Jones and returned to England via Switzerland with Francis Towne. Smith was based in Naples for sixteen months from March 1778, frequently sketching with Thomas Jones from September 1778. Smith rented a house at Vietri on the Bay of Salerno each summer and visited nearby Sorrento in November 1778.A view of Terracina by Smith was engraved in 1796 for his `Select Views of Italy', vol. II, pl.45. `Warwick' Smith description of the engraving is as follows:	`Terracina was the Anxur of the ancients. It stands high. There is but little remarkable in it at present except the cathedral, which is erected upon the ruins of the temple of Jupiter. The antique columns of the latter support the facade of the wooden fabric. This view represents the part of Terracina which in the time of the Volscians was considerable: it is now only a harbour for a few small fishing boats. Here is a dogana, or custom-house, belonging to the Pope, for the purpose of examining whatever merchandise is exported from or imported to the Neapolitan dominions.'){kind=link}
John `Warwick' Smith (1749-1831)
The Port at Terracina, Italy
Watercolour over pencil on laid paper
17.7 by 25.2 cm., 7 by 9 ¾ in.
Provenance:
With Abbott and Holder;
Russell Worby (1954-2025)
Terracina is thirty-five miles south of Rome on the way to Naples. John `Warwick' Smith spent five years in Italy, from 1776 until 1781 at the expense of his patron the 2nd Earl of Warwick. While there, he sketched with Thomas Jones and returned to England via Switzerland with Francis Towne. Smith was based in Naples for sixteen months from March 1778, frequently sketching with Thomas Jones from September 1778. Smith rented a house at Vietri on the Bay of Salerno each summer and visited nearby Sorrento in November 1778.
A view of Terracina by Smith was engraved in 1796 for his `Select Views of Italy', vol. II, pl.45. `Warwick' Smith description of the engraving is as follows:
`Terracina was the Anxur of the ancients. It stands high. There is but little remarkable in it at present except the cathedral, which is erected upon the ruins of the temple of Jupiter. The antique columns of the latter support the facade of the wooden fabric. This view represents the part of Terracina which in the time of the Volscians was considerable: it is now only a harbour for a few small fishing boats. Here is a dogana, or custom-house, belonging to the Pope, for the purpose of examining whatever merchandise is exported from or imported to the Neapolitan dominions.'