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1 of 253523 objects
Thomas Patch (c. 1725-82)
A distant view of Florence c. 1763
Oil on canvas | 117.8 x 232.2 cm (support, canvas/panel/stretcher external) | RCIN 403526
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Patch was a view painter, caricaturist, connoisseur and dealer, who spent his adult life in Italy, appearing prominently in Zoffany’s ‘Tribuna’ (RCIN 406983).
This spectacular panoramic view of Florence is taken from high ground in the west near Bellosguardo. Much play is made across the foreground between the rough road to the right and the elegant terraces of the villa to the left. In the same way the figures are taken from different sections of society to contrast the rustic with the urbane. The 'message' of the distance would seem to be that the Florentines, and specifically the Grand Dukes of Tuscany, whose Pitti Palace is so prominent placed, have imposed a magnificent order on their mountainous homeland.
The painting appears in Pyne's illustrated 'Royal Residences' of 1819, hanging in The Queen's Closet at Kensington Palace (RCIN 922154).Provenance
Probably purchased by George III in 1764, recorded in the Queen's Dressing Room at Kensington Palace in 1818 (no 222)
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Creator(s)
Acquirer(s)
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Medium and techniques
Oil on canvas
Measurements
117.8 x 232.2 cm (support, canvas/panel/stretcher external)
133.6 x 248.4 x 5.3 cm (frame, external)
Category
Object type(s)
Other number(s)
Alternative title(s)
A View of Florence
