Aniene River at Tivoli

Simon Denis

ca. 1786–89 · Oil on paper · European Paintings

A visit to the cataracts of the Aniene River, which courses through and surrounds Tivoli, was considered to be a highlight of the Grand Tour. Denis, a fixture of the expatriate community in Rome, went there on at least three occasions. He adopted the viewpoint seen in this plein-air sketch for a number of studio paintings, including one that commemorates a 1789 excursion undertaken with the artist Élisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun (private collection).

Artist

Simon Denis

Date

ca. 1786–89

Medium

Oil on paper

Department

European Paintings

Credit line

Thaw Collection, Jointly Owned by The Metropolitan Museum of Art and The Morgan Library & Museum, Gift of Eugene V. Thaw, 2009