Imaginary View of Rome with the Horse-Tamer of the Monte Cavallo and a Church

This pair of paintings was created after Robert returned from Italy and was at the height of his artistic powers. As shown by his numerous landscapes, in this Roman Fantasy Robert gathered far-flung masterpieces from antiquity, such as the statue of Marcus Aurelius in the Campidoglio and Trajan's Column, and depicted them in the same composition. Robert received invitations from the Russian queen Ekaterina in 1782 and again in 1791, reflecting his fame in Russia at the time. He never actually went to Russia; however, he sent several of his works in his place. This pair of paintings was possibly originally part of a Russian aristocratic collection. (Source: Masterpieces of the National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, 2009, cat. no.53)