A capriccio landscape of the Roman Campagna, with a shepherd driving his flock on a path, an extensive view of Roman ruins beyond

The artist, a member of the Congregazione dei Virtuosi del Pantheon in Rome as well as a member of the Accademia di S. Luca, was particularly popular with British Grand Tourists in Rome in the 1780s. In 1789, Sir Richard Colt Hoare invited him to accompany him along the Appian Way, following the itinerary recorded by Horace of a journey to Brindisi in 38 B.C. Although Labruzzi's ill-health prevented his finishing the trip, he did complete 226 pen-and-wash drawings that were bound into five volumes by Colt Hoare. Labruzzi kept a second, less finished, set, the publication of which was begun by the artist, who engraved twenty-four of the views.

The present picture may be compared with the pair of views by Labruzzi, both signed and dated, that were sold at Christie's, London, 18 April 1997, lot 200 (17,000).