View of the Roman Countryside, possibly Tivoli

Artist: Gaspard Dughet (French, 1615 - 1675)

Original Dimensions: 28" x 65 3/4"

Location: National Gallery of Art, London

About Artwork: (About 1670) "A wild, mountainous landscape stretches out before us, with sharp snowy peaks silhouetted against the sky. In the middle distance, just beyond the rushing waterfall, a town – complete with campanile (bell towers) and classical buildings – perches on a hilltop. In the foreground, a handful of figures and two dogs rest beside the dusty path that weaves through the landscape. Gaspard Dughet may have intended this to be a view of Tivoli, a hillside town about 20 miles north-east of Rome. It was visited by generations of artists who came to paint the town’s classical buildings, as well as the terraced gardens of the nearby Villa d’Este. Another painting by Dughet, in which some of Tivoli’s buildings appear in an imaginary landscape, is also in the National Gallery’s collection. This painting’s dimensions are unusual, the canvas being twice as wide as it is tall. It may once have been part of a decorative scheme, probably intended to hang above a doorway." - (National Gallery of Art, London)