Garden of the Villa Doria Pamphili in Rome
by CATEL, Franz Ludwig, Oil on canvas, 44 x 66 cm
This painting is typical of those northern painters whose art was transformed by the Italian experience.
The picture shows figures in the garden of the Villa Doria Pamphilj in Rome, with a view of the old church of San Pancrazio. The painting shows the influence of both Johan Christian Dahl’s more naturalist approach to landscape painting, and the continuing legacy of the French painters of the generation following Valenciennes.
The Villa Doria Pamphili was one of several Roman properties of the Doria Pamphili Landi family, including a splendid palace in the Corso, which housed one of the greatest art collections in Italy, another in the Piazza Navona, and the great park and palace of the Villa Doria Pamphili.