The Forum Viewed from the Farnese Gardens
The story
“The Forum Viewed from the Farnese Gardens” was painted in 1826 in Rome. Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot was 30 years old and painted outdoors, among the ruins of the ancient city. It is a small picture, painted right on the spot.
In “The Forum Viewed from the Farnese Gardens” we look down from above on the ancient Roman Forum. We see columns, arches, churches with domes and old houses. Everything is lit by the warm afternoon sun. The shadows are soft, and the colours are ochre, pink and gold.
Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot simplifies the buildings into clear forms – cubes, towers and domes. He does not paint every detail, but the light that falls on them. That is why the painting looks calm and solid, like an architectural model.
From the same spot Corot also painted the Colosseum. In the same year he painted The Augustan Bridge at Narni. For him these Italian studies were only exercises, but today they are considered masterpieces.
Today “The Forum Viewed from the Farnese Gardens” is in the Louvre in Paris. In it Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot shows that a small picture can hold all the splendour of Rome.
Interesting facts
The canvas measures 28 × 50 cm, oil.
The painting was made outdoors in Rome.
From the same spot Corot also painted the Colosseum.
