This year the British Museum in London is celebrating the bicentenary of Francis Towne (1739-1816) with an exhibition of his watercolours of Rome. Towne was from Exeter in Devon and visited Rome in 1780. While there, he produced a portfolio of delicate, washed landscapes and paintings of important sites with meticulous attention to detail. Towne worked in both oils and watercolours and was also a drawing master.

When he died, Francis Towne left three portfolios of his work in Rome to the British Museum.

The exhibition runs until August in Room 90 at the museum and is free.

On Friday, 19 February there will also be a free lunchtime talk on Francis Towne at the British Museum in Room 90 at 1.15pm.

Francis Towne (1739-1816), St Peter’s at sunset, from above the Arco Oscuro, 1781. Watercolour with pen and ink and gum arabic, 320 x 467mm

Featured image: Detail, Francis Towne (1739–1816), The Temple of Vesta. Pen and black ink and watercolour with grey wash, 1781

Images courtesy of British Museum