View of the Colosseum
This view of the Colosseum and the Arch of Constantine is a somewhat fanciful reconstruction showing each monument from its best side. Fallen walls of the Colosseum have been tidied up, and several other works of antiquity have been introduced into the landscapes, such as the famous Borghese vase (now in the Louvre Museum, Paris) at the left. Roman ruins had become popular subjects by the 1700s, in part due to the new interest in archaeology. Panini was a master of these souvenir paintings so favored by wealthy English visitors on their Grand Tour of Europe; this painting and its companion, View of the Roman Forum, were originally in a private British collection.
