A capriccio Roman landscape with the Colosseum; and A capriccio Roman landscape with The Forum, the Arch of Septimius Severus and the Temple of Saturn, the Campidoglio beyond

Andrea Locatelli was among the foremost exponents of Roman landscape painting in the the first half of the 18th century. His idyllic views of the campagna were highly sought after in his own lifetime, not only by distinguished Roman patrons, among them Cardinal Alessandro Albani and Cardinal Pietro Ottoboni, but also by an international clientele. During his artistic career, Locatelli experimented with a variety of styles and genres. He initially concentrated on river and coastal landscapes, influenced by the maritime pictures of Salvator Rosa. Later, he turned to Gaspar Dughet and Jan Frans van Bloemen, from whose works he drew inspiration for his own idealized views of the Roman countryside and mythological, Arcadian landscapes.

We are grateful to Prof. Giancarlo Sestieri for proposing the attribution on the basis of photographs.