The Colosseum seen from the Palatine - 19th century

Circle of Johann Jakob FREY (Basel, 1813 - Frascati, 1865)

The Colosseum seen from the Palatine, Rome

Oil on canvas
31 x 40cm
Around 1850

This view of the Colosseum in Rome is best known thanks to the French artists Antoine-Félix Boisselier, Jean Achille Bénouville and Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot.

Surprisingly the closest composition - apart from a few details: presence of sheep in the foreground and the tone of the sky - is that of the Swiss landscape painter Johann Jakob Frey (Basel, 1813 - Frascati, 1865) and is dated 1846. paintings are similar in framing, vegetation, and position of monuments. However, it seems obvious that the hand is not the same. It is therefore very likely that our painting was painted by an artist contemporary with Frey and who knew his painting.