(Antwerp 1662–1749 Rome)
The Colosseum with the Arch of Constantine and figures, Rome; and
The Palatine and Temple of Castor and Pollux with figures, Rome,
oil on canvas, 74.2 x 134.9 cm and 73.2 x 135 cm, framed, a pair (2)


The present paintings depict some of the most famous buildings of ancient Rome – the Colosseum, the Arch of Constantine, the Palatine and the Temple of Castor and Pollux – set amidst other elements of imagination, such as the fountain located to the right of the remains of the Temple of the Dioscuri, from which the herds of cattle drink.

The slightly elevated view with which these scenes are constructed is an artistic device typical of van Bloemen’s landscapes, allowing the viewer the widest possible view. For this reason, the artist earned the name ‘Orizzonte’, which he also used on some occasions to sign his paintings.

Arriving in Rome in 1688, Jan Frans van Bloemen spent the rest of his life there, becoming the main exponent of the pastoral interpretation of the Roman landscape, blending the naturalism of Gaspar Dughet with the atmospheric compositions of Claude Lorrain; his vision was influenced by the particular artistic and cultural climate diffused in the city by the Academy of Arcadia, founded in 1690 by a group of literati belonging to the circle of Queen Christina of Sweden. The artist was also a member of the Schildersbent, a confraternity of Nordic artists founded in Rome in the 1620s.

Eighteenth-century critics such as Leone Pascoli already praised van Bloemen’s particular skill in painting trees, the result of a long process of study from life. The artist often called on the collaboration of leading painters such as Luigi Garzi, Benedetto Luti, Carlo Maratti and Pompeo Batoni to paint the figures in his landscapes.