View of Porta Pinciana from the Gardens of the Villa Ludovisi

François Edouard Picot

ca. 1814–17 · Oil on paper, laid down on canvas · European Paintings

In 1813 Picot was awarded the Prix de Rome for history painting, but like many of his contemporaries who worked in this genre, he was inclined to quit the confines of his studio to sketch in oil out of doors. Villa Ludovisi and its gardens—overgrown during Picot’s time in Rome—are now long gone. But the Porta Pinciana, the Aurelian walls, and the Borghese gardens beyond remain more or less as they appear in this scintillating sketch. It was painted a short walk from the French Academy’s headquarters, the Villa Medici.

Artist

François Edouard Picot

Date

ca. 1814–17

Medium

Oil on paper, laid down on canvas

Department

European Paintings

Credit line

The Whitney Collection, Promised Gift of Wheelock Whitney III, and Purchase, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Charles S. McVeigh, by exchange, 2003