Pierre-Henri de Valenciennes, 'Rome at Sunrise, from the Janiculum', about 1782-4
About the work
Overview
This scene is painted looking eastwards from a point at the southern end of the Janiculum hill in Rome. The buildings of 18th-century Rome take up the bottom third of the painting, while the upper two-thirds are given over to a scudding dance of black, grey and white clouds at dawn. The clouds seem to be moving particularly swiftly, and it is possible that the painting was not made out of doors but was based on a rapid pencil sketch with colour annotations, of a kind that Valenciennes is known to have made and used.
Key facts
Details
- Full title
- Rome at Sunrise, from the Janiculum
- Artist
- Pierre-Henri de Valenciennes
- Artist dates
- 1750 - 1819
- Date made
- about 1782-4
- Medium and support
- Oil on paper laid on board
- Dimensions
- 23.3 × 42.4 cm
- Acquisition credit
- The Gere Collection, on long-term loan to the National Gallery
- Inventory number
- L871
- Location
- Room 39
- Image copyright
- The Gere Collection, on long-term loan to the National Gallery, © Private collection 2000. Used by permission
- Collection
- Main Collection
About this record
If you know more about this painting or have spotted an error, please contact us. Please note that exhibition histories are listed from 2009 onwards. Bibliographies may not be complete; more comprehensive information is available in the National Gallery Library.
Images
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