Classical Ruins with the Colosseum

This painting is thought to have been purchased by Lord Burlington during his first visit to Italy in 1714/15. Viviano Codazzi often included recognisable buildings, such as the Colosseum, within his imaginative scenes and employed other artists to add the figures. In 1740 this painting was described as ‘Ruins, Viviano, with figures by Michel Angelo’, which is probably a reference to the artist Michelangelo Cerquozzi.