Landscape with a Roman Ruin by Attributed to Charles Cornelisz de Hooch

A band of sunlight brings to life a bustle of activity in this small-scale painting. In the lower left corner, figures are at work bleaching linen in the sunshine while cattle graze and meander. All appears peaceful in the sun’s warmth. Central to the composition is the crumbling building, its arches suggesting an ancient structure that has become integrated into the everyday life of this community. This painting was acquired as a pair with A Ruined Temple. When seen together, the ancient ruins mirror one another, creating complementary focal points around which ordinary lives are played out.

Attributed to the Dutch painter Chaerles Cornelisz. de Hooch (c.1577-1638), this scene typifies the trend in Italianate paintings to include classical ruins set in the landscapes of the Roman campagna (countryside). The building featured here, with arches beneath and set within its walls, resembles drawings made by De Hooch and his contemporaries of an ancient bridge – the Ponte Nomentano – in Rome. Artists would often incorporate sketches and motifs from other Dutch Italianate artists into their works, feeding the growing market demand for classical landscape paintings of every size and for every budget.