A Section of the Via Sacra, Rome

This view depicts the fourth-century Temple of Romulus and Remus, which forms the vestibule of the sixth-century Church of Sts Cosmas and Damian.

In Rome, between 1813 and 1816, Eckersberg produced a series of urban prospects remarkable for their scrupulously simple compositions and saturated hues. These studies were painted in repeated sittings before the motif in order to faithfully reproduce the effects of the Mediterranean sun on architectural ensembles.