Square of an Ancient City

Jean Le Maire worked in the genre of architectural landscapes. While living in Rome, he became close to Poussin and learned a great deal from the master's Classicist vision which later was reflected in his own work. One of the artist's favourite themes was architectural fantasies on themes of Classical Antiquity and the age of the Renaissance which provided him with a constant source of inspiration. Le Maire's canvases are filled with imaginary, frequently fantastic buildings. The prototype for the temple whose massive silhouette rises in the centre of the square was a temple which the artist saw in Poussin's landscape Phocion's Widow Gathering his Ashes (Collection of the Earl of Derby, England). Poussin, in turn, took as his source the reconstruction of a temple in Trevi which was done by the Italian architect Palladio. In the background one can distinguish the Castle of St. Angelo in Rome. The figures have been painted by another artist, possibly by a follower of Pierre Mignard.

Credit: Entered the Hermitage between 1763 and 1774; formerly in thje collection of Catherine the Great