Roman School, 1783

Per Lagerbring (1732-99), whose collection was bought in its entirety by

David Henric Hildebrand (1712-1791), Ericsberg;

His son David Gotthard Henric Hildebrand (1761-1808), who died unmarried;

His sister Agneta Sofia Hildebrand, who was married to

Baron Carl Göran Bonde (1757-1840);

Thence by descent at Ericsberg;

Until sold ('Property from the Bonde Collection, Ericsbergs Slott, Sweden'), London, Sotheby's, 5 July 2006, lot 52 for £209,600;

Where acquired by the present owner.

This panoramic view of Rome, in an extraordinary state of preservation for its size and age, is an evocative rendering of the eternal city during the period of the European Grand Tour. Before its sale in 2006 this beautiful unlined painting had been in the collection of Ericsbergs Slott, Sweden, for approximately two centuries.

The view is from the north-east, looking towards the Vatican complex from across the meadows known as the 'Prati di Castello', a name taken from the Castel Sant' Angelo behind which they lie. The Castel Sant' Angelo stands prominently at the left-hand side of the composition and the cupola of St Peter's towers above the horizon line. The Basilica's façade and one arm of the colonnade in front of it are also visible. Despite being a topographical view, the artist seems more preoccupied with depicting the green spaces around Rome and the presence of herdsmen and cattle transform this veduta into a pastoral scene. This is a feature characteristic of views painted in the latter half of the 18th and early part of the 19th centuries: parallels can be found in other panoramic views of Rome by artists such as Giovanni Battista Lusieri (1755–1821) and Jakob Philipp Hackert (1737–1807). The latter's gouache in Berlin, which is dated 1781, provides an interesting comparison: Hackert's view is taken from the same angle but from further away, and there is a similar clarity of line and detailed rendering of foliage.¹

Despite being indistinctly signed, the author of this impressive painting has not yet been identified, albeit that a number of candidates have been suggested, including the Italian Carlo Labruzzi (1748–1817).

¹ Kupferstichkabinett, Berlin, inv. no. 8587; see C. Nordhoff and H. Reimer, Jakob Philipp Hackert 1737–1807. Verzeichnis seiner Werke, Berlin 1994, vol. II, p. 69, no. 159, reproduced vol. I, p. 144, fig. 77.