The Celian Hill from the Palatine

Charles Lock Eastlake's The Celian Hill from the Palatine of 1823 documents one of the most poignant views in Rome — the Palatine Hill, overgrown with vegetation above the ruins of imperial palaces, looking across to the medieval churches of the Celian. Eastlake's extended Roman residence made him among the most accomplished British painters of Italian subjects, and his topographical accuracy was combined with the melancholy appreciation of time's passage characteristic of Romantic classicism. The painting documents Rome during the period when antiquarian study and archaeological excavation were transforming European understanding of ancient civilization.

Eastlake renders the Roman ruins with archaeological precision illuminated by warm Italian light. The careful observation of architectural details and the atmospheric treatment of the distant landscape demonstrate his combination of scholarly accuracy and painterly skill.