ALEXANDRE HYACINTHE DUNOUY | Figures resting and conversing in the Roman Forum near the temple of Antoninus and Faustina

Private collection, Bilbao.

Alexandre Dunouy was a French painter who trained in Paris. He travelled in Italy and stayed in Rome and Naples until 1791. When he returned to France, he started to exhibit regularly at the Paris Salon, and he was charged with important commissions from Louis XVIII and later, between 1810 and 1815, by Caroline Murat. The present work shows figures near the Temple of Antoninus and Faustina, in the fascinating setting of the Roman Forum - a very popular subject at the time, that allowed the artist to combine the genre representation of figures in Italian costumes with a careful depiction of ancient Roman ruins and architecture.