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Gilles-François-Joseph Closson, Antique Ruins (the Baths of Caracalla?)

Key facts
Full title Antique Ruins (the Baths of Caracalla?)
Artist Gilles-François-Joseph Closson
Artist dates 1798 - 1842
Date made about 1824-9
Medium and support Oil on paper laid on canvas
Dimensions 30.9 × 37.6 cm
Acquisition credit The Gere Collection, on long-term loan to the National Gallery
Inventory number L810
Location Not on display
Image copyright The Gere Collection, on long-term loan to the National Gallery, © Private collection 2000. Used by permission
Collection Main Collection
Antique Ruins (the Baths of Caracalla?)
Gilles-François-Joseph Closson

As in 'The Cascade at Tivoli', Closson has left this oil sketch unfinished. It is still possible to see parts of his preliminary drawing in the lower left-hand corner. The ruins in the background have not been identified. The dark red colour of the brickwork and the arches suggest the ruins in Rome, particularly on the Palatine Hill, and also those at Hadrian's Villa near Tivoli. It has been suggested that the arch in the centre, with a slight curve and the shadow of the higher arch on the brick wall above, may be one of the archways in the ruins of the Baths of Caracalla in Rome.

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