A View of Paestum

Joli's View of Paestum, painted in 1759, documents the ancient Greek temples in southern Italy that had become a pilgrimage site for Grand Tour travellers interested in antiquity. Paestum — with its remarkably preserved Doric temples — attracted architects, archaeologists, and artists throughout the eighteenth century, and views of the site were in steady demand. Joli painted Paestum during his Italian journeys with the theatrical command of composition that characterised all his vedute.

The Doric temples are presented in a golden afternoon light, their massive forms emphasised by the low angle of view. Joli's architectural precision renders the columns and entablatures with surveyor-like accuracy while the landscape surround provides atmospheric recession. The staffage figures include travellers and local inhabitants, standard elements of Grand Tour vedute.