Sir Charles Lock Eastlake, P.R.A.

Renowned as both a painter and an academic, Sir Charles Eastlake was a highly influential figure in the British art world in the mid-19th century and served as the first director of the National Gallery from 1855 until his death. His early years, however, were spent in Rome, where he lived from 1816 until 1830. He first established himself as a view painter despite his initial interest in history painting, and traveled extensively in Italy and throughout Europe. Indeed, at his Royal Academy debut in 1823, he presented three views of Rome, one of which was the finished composition of the present sketch (now lost); the other two depicted the Bridge and Castle of St. Angelo and the Colosseum from the Campo Vaccino.¹

A warm morning sunlight bathes the scene of Saint Peter's Basilica from a distance, its dome standing tall, surrounded by the countryside. The view is taken from Monte Mario, which lies northwest of Rome and due north of the Vatican; the hill is high enough that one can clearly see the bright blue Mediterranean waters beyond the landscape. The quiet scene is interrupted only by a lone traveler in the foreground, walking along a dirt path with his donkey, just below an olive grove. Eastlake has captured the Italian light with great sensitivity and beauty to create both a glorious and a subtle depiction of the Eternal City. 

1. Now at the Tate, London, see https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/eastlake-the-colosseum-from-the-campo-vaccino-t00665