Cerdon

John Webber (1751-1793)
A View on the Road to Cerdon between Lyons and Geneva

Signed lower left: J. Webber. del 1788 and inscribed with title on original washline border
Watercolour over pencil
34.6 by 50.7 cm., 13 ½ by 20 in.

This watercolour originates from Webber's only continental tour, in the summer of 1787. He spent the month of June 1787 in Paris before setting off for Lyon at the end of June. From Lyons, he headed towards Geneva, then probably across the Simplon pass into Italy. He reached as far south as Milan before heading north again to Bern to visit some friends from his student days in Paris before returning to London in early 1788.

Webber was the son of the Swiss sculptor Abraham Weber and studied in Paris before entering the Royal Academy Schools in 1775. In 1776, he accompanied Captain Cook on his third voyage to the South Seas returning in 1780. Works from this trip are rare and much sought after.

An oil of this title was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1789, no.127.

Provenance:
With Spink & Son, London, 1980s;
Private collection, London, until 2011