A capriccio of classical ruins with the Arch of Titus, the Temple of Vespasian, the Castel Sant'Angelo and the Roman campagna beyond

Jean Lemaire was known as Le Gros Lemaire, to distinguish him from his younger brother, called Le Petit Lemaire (1612-1688). After studying with Claude Vignon, Lemaire was in Rome by 1613 and by 1624 he was sharing quarters with Nicolas Poussin from whom he derived a number of stylistic influences. There is imaginary architecture in the works of Poussin dating from 1630-5, and it is likely that the master made use of his young compatriot as his assistant in several paintings, as for example in the Plague of Ashod (Louvre, Paris).

Probably painted in the early 1630s when Lemaire was closer in style to Poussin, making use of simple iconography and an earthy palette, the present painting can be compared in palette, date, and composition to a painting in the Albano collection, Rome (see M. Fagiolo dell'Arco, Jean Lemaire pittore "antiquario", Rome, 1996, p. 183, no. 26). Lemaire's technique of using an arch to frame the distant background, engaging the viewer into the composition, can also be observed in several other pictures (see ibid., pp. 154-6 and 195, nos. 2-4 and 38).

The solitary female figure in the foreground walking into the distance is similar to another female figure in a work by Lemaire sold at Christie's, New York, 30 May 2003, lot 57. Similarities between these compositions in the construction of the architectural elements of the columns and the top edges of the ruins are also apparent.