Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg – London National Gallery NG6543. View of the Forum in Rome (1814)

Materials: oil on canvas. DImensions: 32 x 41 cm. Nr.: NG6543. Bought, 1992. Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/gandalfsgallery/5608797649/in/photostream

This is one of the most famous views in Rome, looking along the Forum towards the Palazzo dei Senatorio on the Capitol. The three surviving columns of the Temple of Castor and Pollux frame the composition on the left; in the middle distance are the remains of the Temples of Saturn and Vespasian. In 1814 the Forum was still used as a field for grazing cattle and many prominent monuments (such as the Arch of Septimius Severus on the right) had yet to be fully excavated.

A detailed drawing by Eckersberg dated 8 June 1814 (Copenhagen, Hirschsprung Collection) corresponds to the view in this painting (http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/christoffer-wilhelm-eckersberg-view-of-the-forum-in-rome).