John ‘Warwick’ Smith

Watercolour over pencil, the original wash-line mount inscribed recto: View from the Gate of St John Lateran, Rome and signed, titled, inscribed and dated verso: I. Trevelyan 1795
16.7 x 24.1 cm.; 6 ½ x 9 ½ inches

Provenance
Sir John Trevelyan, 5th Baronet (1761-1846);
Abbott and Holder Ltd., June 2018;
Private collection U.K. until 2024

The original wash-line mount is behind the watercolour inside the frame.

Sir John Trevelyan, 5th Baronet, travelled in Italy in 1781 and was to become one of the artist’s most important patrons. There are groups of Smith’s Italian watercolours from Trevelyan’s collection in the British Museum and in the V&A, which has a similar watercolour looking back towards the Porta St. Giovanni dated 1795 (FA.582).

St John Lateran is considered to be the oldest church and Archbasilica in the world, founded by Pope Melchiade in 324 on the ruins of the villa of the Laterani family.