A Section of Ruined and Overgrown Arches at the Colosseum in Rome

In 1790, Klengel was awarded a study trip to Rome, and spent the next two years capturing the city and her environs. This plein-air watercolor drawing reveals a single, sun-drenched portion of the Colosseum as it battles the onslaught of nature and time. After his return to his native Dresden, Klengel continued to incorporate Roman ruins in his finished paintings, which are held in every major German collection. He is considered a forebear of the Dresden School of landscape painting, and was one of the most influential German landscape artists of his time.