Italian school, 18th century. "Landscape with... Lot 30

Italian school, 18th century. "Landscape with ruins and figures". Oil on canvas. Re-coloured. Frame with slight lack of polychrome. Measurements: 69 x 58 cm; 86 x 75,5 cm (frame). This painting corresponds to the genre of the architectural caprices that enjoyed great popularity in Italy during the pre-romantic period. The human figures are dwarfed by the majesty of the ancient ruins. The landscape, crossed by a zigzagging stream, is also sublimated by the superimposition of shades veering towards glaucous in the distance. The figures wear Greco-Roman costumes, unlike the versions in vogue in Naples at the time, where shepherds contemporaneous with the painters strolled among the Greek remains. The whole is imbued with a dreamlike quality, heightened by the blue lights tinting the mountainous terrain. The sky, partially covered with white clouds, allows the natural light of a clear day to filter through. The moss crowning the large columns (the remains of peristyles) adds a poetic patina to the whole. The details carved into the metopes have been described with similar care as the foliage has been recreated sprouting everywhere.