The Bridge of Toledo, near Madrid, Spain

Details

DAVID ROBERTS, R.A. (EDINBURGH 1796-1864 LONDON)
The Bridge of Toledo, near Madrid, Spain
inscribed 'TOLEDO' (lower right)
pencil, pen and ink, watercolour and bodycolour with gum arabic and with scratching out, on grey paper
6 ¾ x 9 ¾ in. (17.2 x 24.8 cm.)

Provenance

with Ernest Gambart, 1859 (as part of a group of Spanish watercolours) where purchased by
'The proprietor of a Lancashire cotton [mill]' through Agnew's, Manchester.
Anonymous sale; Christie's, London, 28 April 1860, lot 151 (125 gns to Colnaghi).
with Colnaghi's, London, where purchased by
Michael Ingram; Sotheby's, London, 8 December 2005, lot 235, where purchased by the present owner.

Literature

K. Sim, David Roberts, R.A. 1796-1864, London, 1984, p. 64.
H. Guiterman and B. Llewellyn, David Roberts, London, 1986, p.111, no. 106, pl. 41.

Exhibited

London, German Gallery, November 1859.
London, Barbican Art Gallery, David Roberts, 6 November 1986 - 4 January 1987, no. 106, pl. 41.

Engraved

E. Goodall, Royal Gallery of Art, 1854, vol. I, pl. 6.
Art Journal, 1855, p. 54.

Sale room notice

Please note that this lot is being sold with no reserve.

Conditions of sale

Brought to you by

Lucy Speelman Junior Specialist, Head of Part II

lspeelman@christies.com +44 207 752 3074

Lot Essay

Roberts had intended to travel from Seville to Toledo in Autumn of 1832, but was detained there due to an outbreak of cholera and was forced to return to England. Roberts worked on 75 Spanish subjects for the dealer Ernest Gambart (1814-1902), who according to Roberts had sold them all prior to their exhibition in 1859. These watercolours were then subsequently sold at Christie's in 1860 and the 1860 catalogue note, written by Roberts himself stated, 'I am indebted for the subject of this beautiful watercolour to my friend Sir Edmund Head, now Governor of Canada, amongst whose many acquirements, not the least is that of being a good artist. We were in Spain together.'

The bridge depicted is the Alcantara, over the river Tagus and was used as a basis for an oil painting, dated 1841, which was bought by Queen Victoria as a birthday present for Prince Albert (Royal Collection) and was engraved by E. Goodall for the Royal Gallery of Art, 1855.

More from Old Masters Part II: Paintings, Sculpture, Drawings and Watercolours

View All