View Near Devil's Bridge

Item

Title

View Near Devil's Bridge

Creator

Thomas Wright
English, 1773–1845

Materials

Watercolor and graphite

Measurements

8 x 10-5/8 in. (20.3 x 27 cm)

Description

A member of a prominent banking family from Nottingham, Thomas Wright is perhaps best known for building Upton Hall, just west of Newark, which today houses the British Horological Institute. Whether Wright practiced in his family’s business has yet to be ascertained; however, records show he was certainly a seasoned watercolorist, exhibiting regularly at the Royal Academy from 1801 through 1837.

The view depicts an unknown gentleman—the illegible inscription precludes a proper identification—sketching in the Swiss Alps along the Reuss River, between the city of Altdorf, on Lake Lucerne, and the Devil’s Bridge, or Teufelsbrücke, which spans the Ruess about ten miles further south. The sheet is undated, but was possibly executed as early as 1802, when Wright was known to be traveling, and sketching, in central Switzerland.

Source

Palmer Museum of Art, The Pennsylvania State University, Gift of Mr. Roy Davis

Identifier

75.65

Rights

This image is posted publicly for non-profit educational uses, excluding printed publication. Other uses are not permitted.