Houses, Rome

1820
Not on view

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

Object Information
  • 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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