View in the Campagna, Rome (with river)

Edward Lear 1812 - 1888

Summary

Expansive landscape view of Campagna in Rome with a winding river in the middle distance, birds flying above rocks and shrubs in the left foreground, with blue coloured hills in the distance. In the foreground thick foliage grows amidst rocks; this section of the painting is in dark shade. To the right in the background a ruin can be seen amidst the vast landscape. The sky is bright casting bright light on the scene below. The landscape is stylised, tending more towards a painted illustrative style rather than a naturalistic style. The artist was an illustrator and ornithological draftsman who travelled widely in the era of Queen Victoria, representing various landscape scenes. Edward Lear left England in July 1837 to make the long journey to Rome where he arrived early December and remained for ten years.