Oswald Achenbach (German, 1827-1905)

When we compare the present lot to Oswald Achenbach's painting of the Arch of Titus (lot 205) we are again struck by the artist's ability to capture the Italian landscape with its warm atmosphere. It is because of his Italian paintings that Oswald was described as a 'Mahler Italiens' by the Düsseldorfer Zeitung in 1861. The road seen in the present painting is the ancient Via Cassia from which many pilgrims arriving from Tuscany would get their first glimpse of St. Peter's Cathedral.