Houses, Rome
This keyhole view is extraordinary for its disparities of scale and disordered geometry. What appears to be an architectural fragment in the foreground is oversize relative to the walled-off cluster of houses seen in the distance, and half the image is given over to the sky. Trained as a military draftsman, Söderberg had only recently learned to paint out of doors when he made this study in 1820, in Rome.
Artwork Details
- Title: Houses, Rome
- Artist: Gustaf Söderberg (Swedish, Norrköping 1799–1875 Stockholm)
- Date: 1820
- Medium: Oil on paper, laid down on board
- Dimensions: 8 1/8 x 3 1/4 in. (20.6 x 8.3 cm)
- Classification: Paintings
- Credit Line: Thaw Collection, Jointly Owned by The Metropolitan Museum of Art and The Morgan Library & Museum, Gift of Eugene V. Thaw, 2009
- Object Number: 2009.400.104
- Curatorial Department: European Paintings
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