This early 19th-century watercolour by British aristocrat Sir William Pilkington (1755-1850) depicts a picturesque view of the Tiber as seen from Monte Mario, the highest hill in Rome. It’s an idyllic sketch, probably completed during his Grand Tour.Sir William Pilkington, 8th Baronet, was a keen amateur artist and a generous patron of the arts. He’s particularly known for his close association with JMW Turner (1775-1851) with whom he placed various commissions. In one of these, a hunting scene at Otley Chevin in West Yorkshire, Turner included him as the main figure. The original is currently in the Wallace Collection.Pilkington was also a keen student of the techniques of others and mentioned in literature for his broad knowledge of Richard Wilson (1714-1782). It’s possible that he took lessons with Joseph Farington RA (1747-1821), one of Wilson’s pupils.An obituary in the Art Journal (1850) described his acute mind. “Sir William had travelled much, with an observant eye ...