Description
The painting depicts an imagined scene of a ruined ancient city bathed in the nostalgic glow of twilight. The artist's detailed, almost archeological, interest in these Greek or Roman buildings is characteristic of neoclassicism, although the composition—which plunges suddenly from the foreground into a deep valley—and dramatic lighting are typical of Romantic painting.
Provenance
William Ropner, 1864-1947 (West Hartlepool, England), by 1898, when it was withdrawn from a Christie's sale.; Privat collection (sold, Christie's, London, 24 November 1978, lot 160) as An Extensive Classical Landscape with a Ruined City, ca. 1812-15, for £6,000 to Hazlitt, Gooden & Fox.; Hazlitt, Gooden & Fox, (London, England), sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art, 1981.
Accession Number
1981.13
Medium
oil on paper, mounted on canvas
Dimensions
Framed: 118.5 x 142 x 8 cm (46 5/8 x 55 7/8 x 3 1/8 in.); Unframed: 95.6 x 118.6 cm (37 5/8 x 46 11/16 in.)
Classification
Painting
Credit Line
Mr. and Mrs. William H. Marlatt Fund
