Willem van Nieulandt (1584 - 1636). Landscape with Roman ruins, c. 1605. In this landscape with ancient ruins we see a number of figures. The group of camels on the left suggests that they are biblical characters. Those near the fountain may represent the Old Testament figure of Rebecca, with Abraham's servant. The ruins in the painting are authentic - they stood in the Forum Romanum in Rome - but here the painter has arbitrarily located them in the midst of an imaginary landscape. Painted on copper. Purchased in 1809 (as the work of Paulus Bril), as part of the Van Heteren Gevers collection (The Hague).