An extensive view of the Colosseum and the Arch of Constantine, with figures in the foreground

Between 1779 and 1784, Louis Ducros collaborated with the engraver Giovanni Volpato (1732-1803) on several artistic projects including the Vedute di Roma e dei suoi dintorni series, large-scale etchings embellished with watercolour. An identical panoramic view of the Palatine, signed and dated 1786, was at Sotheby’s, London, 9 July 2003, lot 65 and shows Pope Pius VI with attendant figures. An etching after the Sotheby’s watercolour is in this Vedute series (P. Chessex, Roma romantica, Vedute di Roma e dei suoi dintorni di A.LR. Ducros (1748-1810), 1985, Milan, no. 3, ill.). Volpato had obtained permission from the Pope to carry out excavations both in Rome and outside the city.
In the present work, Ducros chose to represent antique dealers, who initiated the excavations, searching for objects which would enhance private collections or the Museo Pio-Clementino founded in 1771.