If you were ever to ask me where I'd rather be, Rome would almost certainly be the answer. I spent a year in the city 15 years ago – and during these strange months of lockdown, I've made plenty of pilgrimages back there in my mind. What follows is a selection of Roman views, diversions and digressions: a personal tour of Rome in the company of a few of the artists who worked there and the ghosts of some former visitors to the city. All the works are drawn from collections in the UK – so it's a Dolce Vita of dusty storerooms, a Roman Holiday of regional museums, and a Grande Bellezza of grand tourism. 'Nnamo!

Artists featured in this Curation: Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg (1783–1853), Maerten van Heemskerck (1498–1574), Giovanni Paolo Panini (1691–1765), Italian School, Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598–1680), Ercole Ferrata (1610–1686), Joseph Wright of Derby (1734–1797), William Bell Scott (1811–1890), Joseph Severn (1793–1879), Muirhead Bone (1876–1953), and 6 more
15 artworks
Storyline Album Showcase
View of the Forum in Rome
Image credit: The National Gallery, London

View of the Forum in Rome 1814

Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg (1783–1853)

Oil on canvas

H 32 x W 41 cm

The National Gallery, London

Self Portrait with the Colosseum, Rome
Image credit: The Fitzwilliam Museum

Self Portrait with the Colosseum, Rome 1553

Maerten van Heemskerck (1498–1574)

Oil on panel

H 42.2 x W 54.2 cm

The Fitzwilliam Museum

Ruins of Rome
Image credit: Walker Art Gallery

Ruins of Rome c.1741

Giovanni Paolo Panini (1691–1765)

Oil on canvas

H 172.7 x W 220.9 cm

Walker Art Gallery

Architectural Capriccio of Ancient Rome with Figures: The Tomb of Augustus Caesar
Image credit: National Trust Images

Architectural Capriccio of Ancient Rome with Figures: The Tomb of Augustus Caesar early 17th C

Italian School

Oil on canvas

H 71 x W 146 cm

National Trust, Kingston Lacy

Elephant and Obelisk
Image credit: National Trust Images

Elephant and Obelisk 19th C

Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598–1680) (after) and Ercole Ferrata (1610–1686) (after)

Marble

National Trust, Castle Coole

The Colosseum, Rome, Italy, Moonlight
Image credit: Derby Museums

The Colosseum, Rome, Italy, Moonlight c.1789

Joseph Wright of Derby (1734–1797)

Oil on canvas

H 115 x W 127 cm

Derby Museums

Keats's Grave
Image credit: Ashmolean Museum, Oxford

Keats's Grave 1873

William Bell Scott (1811–1890)

Oil on canvas

H 48.8 x W 33.4 cm

Ashmolean Museum, Oxford

Shelley Composing ‘Prometheus Unbound’ in the Baths of Caracalla
Image credit: The Wordsworth Trust

Shelley Composing ‘Prometheus Unbound’ in the Baths of Caracalla 1845

Joseph Severn (1793–1879)

Oil on canvas

H 100.5 x W 127.9 cm

The Wordsworth Trust

Via Condotta, Rome
© estate of Sir Muirhead Bone. All rights reserved, DACS 2023. Image credit: Harris Museum, Art Gallery & Library

Via Condotta, Rome 1938 or before

Muirhead Bone (1876–1953)

Graphite on paper

H 20.7 x W 15.2 cm

Harris Museum, Art Gallery & Library

Piazza Sant'Eustachio, Rome
© the artist's estate. Image credit: Tate

Piazza Sant'Eustachio, Rome 1955

Adrian Durham Stokes (1902–1972)

Oil on canvas

H 54.6 x W 45.7 cm

Tate

Untitled
© the artist's estate. Image credit: Yorkshire Sculpture Park

Untitled 1999

Jannis Kounellis (1936–2017)

Oil on paper

H 103 x W 65 cm

Yorkshire Sculpture Park

A Salesman in Rome with a Snake Selling Amulets as Antidotes or Prophylactics against Snake Bites to a Crowd of People
Image credit: Wellcome Collection

A Salesman in Rome with a Snake Selling Amulets as Antidotes or Prophylactics against Snake Bites to a Crowd of People 1821

Bartolomeo Pinelli (1781–1835)

Pen & brown ink wash on paper (?)

H 24.5 x W 38.9 cm

Wellcome Collection

A Corner of the Gardens of the Villa Borghese
Image credit: Ashmolean Museum, Oxford

A Corner of the Gardens of the Villa Borghese 1876

Lawrence Alma-Tadema (1836–1912)

Oil on canvas

H 34.9 x W 22 cm

Ashmolean Museum, Oxford

In the Garden of the Hotel de Russie, Rome
© Estate of Duncan Grant. All rights reserved, DACS 2023. Image credit: University of Hull Art Collection

In the Garden of the Hotel de Russie, Rome 1920

Duncan Grant (1885–1978)

Oil on canvas

H 55.2 x W 41.8 cm

University of Hull Art Collection

The Forum, Rome
© estate of Vanessa Bell. All rights reserved, DACS 2024. Image credit: Charleston

The Forum, Rome c.1935

Vanessa Bell (1879–1961)

Oil on canvas

H 53.5 x W 37 cm

Charleston

Explore artists in this Curation

View all 16
  • View of the Forum in Rome
    Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg (1783–1853)
  • Man Baiting a Bull with Mastiffs
    Bartolomeo Pinelli (1781–1835)
  • Landscape with the Arch of Constantine
    Giovanni Paolo Panini (1691–1765)
  • Bozzetto for the Monument to Cardinal Lelio Falconieri (d. 1648) in the tribuna of S.Giovanni dei Fiorentini, Rome
    Ercole Ferrata (1610–1686)
  • Votive Painting Showing a Man Being Kicked by a Horse, Naples, Italy
    Italian School
  • Mrs St John Hutchinson
    Vanessa Bell (1879–1961)
  • Scene from Alexander Pope's 'Eloisa to Abelard'
    Joseph Severn (1793–1879)
  • William Bell Scott (1811–1890), Poet and Artist, Self Portrait
    William Bell Scott (1811–1890)
  • Bathing
    Duncan Grant (1885–1978)
  • Self Portrait with the Colosseum, Rome
    Maerten van Heemskerck (1498–1574)
  • View all 16
View all