Lot 174
John Ruskin (British, 1819-1900), "The Roman Arch at Susa in Piedmont", c. 1830s/40s or later, traces of graphite with black and white gouache on gray paper, unsigned, 6 1/4 in. x 6 1/2 in., on a decorated French mat, hinged to a modern mount Provenance: George Dicks; Durlacher, New York, 1956; James R. Lamantia, Jr., New Orleans and New York. Note: The Arch at Susa (9-8 B. C.), in the Piedmontese foothills of the Mont-Cenis Pass, was erected early in the sequence of Imperial arches to commemorate the alliance between Augustus and Julius Cottius, for whom the surrounding Cottian Alps are named-and which press close on this tiny town in Ruskin's sketch. The structure's simple, basic form is well represented in Ruskin's admirable (and very dramatic) drawing: the uncompromisingly plain arch with its undecorated vault is framed on each façade only by a pair of engaged Corinthian columns, supporting a simple entablature with a continuous frieze, below an attic that is perhaps disproportionately low (and which Ruskin tactfully allows to run off the top of his sheet, thus implying its greater height). The arch's one embellishment is the celebrated frieze that memorably...
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