Classical Landscape with an Urn

Summary

This painting, which is closely related to Classical Landscape with a Sphinx (Manchester Art Gallery, inv. no. 1988.139), depicts an imaginary scene in the vicinity of Rome. In the foreground, figures in colourful local costume are talking beside a large and ancient stone urn on a pedestal. Behind them, there is a vista of the Roman campagna. On the right, beyond the two large trees in the centre of the picture, other figures are gathered around a large pool or tank with a stone surround, with a ruined castle in the background. Significant perspectival flaws in the companion painting suggest the work of an amateur, although the trees and landscape are well painted in both. The buildings and the architectural motifs, such as the urn, pool and ruin, are reminiscent of the Roman scenes of Jan Frans van Bloemen (1662-1749), known as Orizzonte, but the figures do not correspond to his style, and the whole has a later and considerably less refined appearance. The paintings could equally have been inspired by the classicising landscapes of Gaspard Dughet (1615-1675) and Andrea Locatelli (1695-1741). The urn is weathered and mossy with age. The pedestal is inscribed with letters and Roman numerals, possibly a signature and date, but they are (possibly intentionally) mostly impossible to make out, beyond a clear ‘XV'.