Rome: View of the Colosseum and The Arch of Constantine

Antonio Joli was a Venetian scene painter and vedutista who worked extensively in England, Spain, and Italy during the mid-eighteenth century. His View of the Colosseum and the Arch of Constantine, painted around 1744 during his time in Rome, belongs to the tradition of Roman vedute catering to Grand Tour travellers seeking visual souvenirs of antiquity. Joli had trained as a stage designer, which gave his architectural views a theatrical clarity and precision.

The ancient monuments are presented in clear, raking afternoon light that emphasises their ruined grandeur. Joli's theatrical training is evident in the strong architectural framing and the carefully distributed staffage figures providing scale. His warm, golden palette and crisp rendering of stone and sky are characteristic of his veduta style.