View of Romec. 1782–84
This oil sketch showing St. Peter's Basilica in the distance was painted during the artist's stay in Rome, 1777–85. More about this work
About this work
This oil sketch showing St. Peter's Basilica in the distance was painted during the artist's stay in Rome, 1777–85. Its spontaneity and freshness is typical of the artist's outdoor paintings, in which he sought to capture the light and atmosphere of Rome.
Text from the Cleveland Museum of Art.
How it was made
- Oil paint
- Pigment ground in a drying oil, usually linseed. It dries slowly, so painters could blend on the canvas, build up thin translucent glazes, and rework a picture over weeks. Canvas replaced wooden panels in the 1500s because it is lighter and can be rolled.
Pierre Henri de Valenciennes
French, 1750–1819
Valenciennes was the leading theorist of French historical landscape. During years in Italy in the late 1770s and 1780s he made small oil sketches outdoors, recording the same rooftops or clouds at different times of day, studies he kept in his studio but which are now his most admired work. His treatise of 1800 urged students to paint from nature, and his teaching helped bring about the Prix de Rome for historical landscape, created in 1817.
Written by Ochre Editions.
Rights and the museum’s record
Public domain. The Cleveland Museum of Art has dedicated this image to the public domain under CC0, so anyone may copy, adapt and use it, for any purpose, without asking. Our prints and files are reproductions made from the museum’s image; the museum doesn’t endorse them.
- Object number
- 1970.55
- Credit
- Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art
- Type
- Painting
- Department
- European Painting and Sculpture
- Licence
- CC0 1.0 Universal
- Museum record
- See it on the museum’s site
