1867, Thomas Moran, Opus 24: Rome, from the Campagna, Sunset -- Timken Museum of Art (San Diego)
From the museum label: Dating from just after the Civil War, this painting was the first major work that Thomas Moran completed in his Philadelphia studio after returning from the second of his multiple visits to Europe. In 1866-67, the artist passed several weeks in the countryside south of Rome, studying its traces of ancient civilization before sailing back to the United States. A series of fragmentary aqueducts are seen to the right. These hulking forms lead our eye back to Rome, visible in the distance. In the foreground, the artist depicts lizards scrambling over the rocks. The dome of Saint Peter's Basilica can be glimpsed breaking the horizon line near the work's compositional center. During the mid-1860s, Moran kept a running tally of his noteworthy efforts, named his "Opus List." This work is number 24 on that list. As the decades passed, Moran became more renowned for painting the American wilderness sites such as Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon, and Yosemite.
1867, Thomas Moran, Opus 24: Rome, from the Campagna, Sunset -- Timken Museum of Art (San Diego)
From the museum label: Dating from just after the Civil War, this painting was the first major work that Thomas Moran completed in his Philadelphia studio after returning from the second of his multiple visits to Europe. In 1866-67, the artist passed several weeks in the countryside south of Rome, studying its traces of ancient civilization before sailing back to the United States. A series of fragmentary aqueducts are seen to the right. These hulking forms lead our eye back to Rome, visible in the distance. In the foreground, the artist depicts lizards scrambling over the rocks. The dome of Saint Peter's Basilica can be glimpsed breaking the horizon line near the work's compositional center. During the mid-1860s, Moran kept a running tally of his noteworthy efforts, named his "Opus List." This work is number 24 on that list. As the decades passed, Moran became more renowned for painting the American wilderness sites such as Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon, and Yosemite.