Design for a Naumachia, in the gardens at Chateau d'Enghien, Belgium

Charles de Wailly

1782 · Watercolor over charcoal underdrawing · Drawings and Prints

This is one of three drawings from the collection of Mrs. Wrightsman, made by the artist Charles de Wailly for the gardens of Enghien. They were part of a larger plan developed by the Duke of Arenberg to redesign the palace and gardens. In 1780 he attracted De Wailly to this end, who finished his overall redesign in 1782, which was never realized. His plans for the garden included this site for a Naumachia, which along with a triumphal arch and the Temple of Apollo was one of the follies meant for the area of the garden described as Mount Parnassus or "New Herculaneum". The drawing in pen and ink with watercolor shows the site of the Naumachia as the ruin of an amphitheater, surrounded by a body of water.

Artist

Charles de Wailly

Date

1782

Medium

Watercolor over charcoal underdrawing

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

Bequest of Mrs. Charles Wrightsman, 2019