
Franz Ludwig Catel
c. 1823
Franz Ludwig Catel's 'Interior of the Colosseum' (1810s–1820s) is an atmospheric architectural painting by the German artist based in Rome. Figures scale the moss-covered tiers inside the great Roman amphitheatre — a paradigmatic Romantic-era meditation on the ruin and the sublime. Oil on canvas, Art Institute of Chicago.
Image source: Art Institute of Chicago