A View of the Ruins of the Baths of Caracalla

About the Artwork

Lusieri was known among his Grand Tour patrons for his meticulous technique and his originality: for example, his choice of an unusual view of the Baths of Caracalla, as here, taken from within the ancient site. With an astonishing commitment to the truthful depiction of nature and ruins, and an extreme awareness of the nuances of light at different times of day, he depicted the ruins in the late afternoon. The presence of figures emphasizes the massive scale of the ruins in the warm Italian sun in this significantly large, impressive sheet, a welcome souvenir to his patron, an English Lord, when he returned to England.

Provenance

Philip Yorke, later 3rd Earl of Hardwicke (1757-1834), commissioned from the artist around 1778-1779; thence by descent at Eastnor Castle, Herefordshire July 5, 2022: (Christie's, London, England), sold to The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH September 12, 2022-: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH

Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 8, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.

Quick Overview

Artist: Giovanni Battista Lusieri (Italian, 1750–1825)
Date: 1779–81
Medium: graphite, pen and black ink, watercolor
Dimensions: Support: 53.3 x 68.6 cm (21 x 27 in.); Matted: 66 x 86 cm (26 x 33 7/8 in.); Image: 50.9 x 65.7 cm (20 1/16 x 25 7/8 in.)
Type: Drawing
Classification: Drawing
Department: Drawings
Credit line: Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund
Accession no.: 2022.93

Open-access museum record · AT-00011232