1816
oil on canvas
135 x 194,3

The Coliseum is one of the best known monuments from Antiquity. Artists were drawn to the beauty of its architectural shapes, and by the harmony and clarity of proportions. The space of the painting is organized as if it were a theatre stage. To the left and right, like coulisses, the composition is framed by depictions of trees. In the centre we see the main theme of the painting – the ancient ruins of the Coliseum. The vegetation surrounding it, the remains of stone walls which frame the magnificent structure all emphasize its dominant role in the painting. In front of the Coliseum the artist has placed a triumphal arch, also built in the times of Antiquity. Monuments from the ancient past serve the master as demonstration of the immortality of genuine beauty. The inclusion in the landscape of several human figures “enlivens” the monumental view of the ancient architecture. The artist, as it were, confronts man with history, juxtaposing the eternal with the evanescent, the genuine with the accidental.

at 10, Lavrushinsky Lane, Hall 6