The waterfalls at Tivoli

Boucher executed at least two other views of Tivoli while he was in Italy between 1728 and 1731, one in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, the other in Frankfurt (M. Stuffmann, Französische Zeichnungen im Städelschen Kunstinstitut 1550 bis 1800, Frankfurt, 1986, no. 79), which shows the same view as in the present drawing although from a closer viewpoint. The Frankfurt drawing is dated 1730 and it seems probable that the present one predates it as it still shows the strong influence of Watteau and remains close to some landscapes Boucher made before leaving for Italy, for example a red chalk counterproof showing willows in the Musée des Beaux-Arts, Grenoble (exhib. cat. François Boucher hier et aujourd'hui, Paris, Musée du Louvre, 2003-4, no. 28).