2-739-483 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Ruins of an Ancient City, c. 1810 - 1820. The painting depicts an imagined scene of a ruined ancient city bathed in the nostalgic glow of twilight. The artist's detailed, almost archeological, interest in these Greek or Roman buildings is characteristic of Neoclassicism, although the composition---which plunges suddenly from the foreground into a deep valley---and dramatic lighting are typical of Romantic painting.