Colosseum and Arch of Constantine

Bellotto painted the Colosseum and Arch of Constantine together during his early Roman stay of 1742, when he was exploring the city's ancient monuments as subjects for vedute in the tradition established by his uncle Canaletto and by other northern artists working in Rome. The pairing of the two monuments was natural — they stand adjacent on the eastern edge of the Roman Forum — and their combination offered both the dramatic scale of the Flavian amphitheatre and the triumphal architecture of the Constantinian arch. Bellotto's early Roman works show his developing veduta technique before its full maturation in the Dresden series and the Warsaw commissions, and they provide evidence of his engagement with the classical world that underlies all his subsequent architectural painting. The work's unlocated collection status suggests it remains in private hands or in an institution yet to document it comprehensively.

The early date of 1742 places this work in Bellotto's developing period, and comparison with his mature vedute reveals both his already considerable architectural precision and the less settled atmospheric handling of his pre-Dresden work. The Colosseum's great arcaded bulk is rendered with structural accuracy while the crumbling Roman stonework provides textural interest. The Arch of Constantine's relief sculpture is indicated rather than described in full detail.