View of the Forum in Rome by Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg was created in 1814. The painting is in National Gallery, London. The size of the work is 32 x 41 cm and is made of oil on canvas.
About the Work
This is one of the most well-known views of classical Rome. We are looking along the Forum towards the Palazzo Senatorio on the Capitol. Although the Forum had yet to be fully excavated, the three surviving columns of the Temple of Castor and Pollux can be seen here on the left. The remains of the Temples of Saturn and Vespasian are in the middle distance, and the Arch of Septimius Severus is on the right.
The Danish artist Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg painted this picture during the three years he spent in Italy from 1813 to 1816, when he produced around 40 views of Rome and its surroundings as well as figure compositions and portraits. Although modest in scale, these views are among his finest achievements. Writing to the engraver J.F. Clemens in July 1814, Eckersberg announced his plan to ‘make a collection of the most beautiful views in and around Rome … I have completed about ten small studies which are all painted on the spot direct from nature’. This painting corresponds with a detailed drawing (Hirschsprung Collection, Copenhagen), dated 8 June 1814. This drawing would have given him a very precise guide when painting, although it is likely that some of the picture was painted at the Forum itself. Read more in National Gallery London
About the Artist
Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg (2 January 1783 – 22 July 1853) was a Danish painter. He was born in Blåkrog in the Duchy of Schleswig (now in Aabenraa Municipality, in the southern part of Jutland in Denmark). He went on to lay the foundation for the period of art known as the Golden Age of Danish Painting, and is referred to as the “Father of Danish painting”.
On 2 January 1783, Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg was born in Blåkrog in the Duchy of Schleswig (now in Aabenraa Municipality, in the southern part of Jutland in Denmark), to Henrik Vilhelm Eckersberg, a painter and carpenter, and Ingeborg Nielsdatter. In 1786 the family moved to Blans, a village near the Alssund, where he enjoyed drawing pictures of the surrounding countryside, and taking sailing tours in his father’s boat. Read more in Wikipedia
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