The landscape is based on a contrast and comparison of the dense forest thickets and the patches of light on the ground. Mikhail Lebedev was fascinated by everything that he saw in Italy — the vivid nature, beautiful architecture and bright clothes of the common people. The artist’s interest in all aspects of Italian life is reflected in this Romantic landscape of Ariccia — a small town near Lake Albano on the site of the ancient settlement of Aricia. The church of Santa Maria dell’Assunzione depicted on the canvas was designed by Giovanni Lorenzo Bernini.

Lebedev Mikhail

Lebedev, Mikhail Ivanovich
1811, Derpt (now Tartu) - 1837, Naples
Painter, draughtsman, watercolour painter. Landscape and genre artist. Studied at Derpt grammar school (1827-29) where his drawings caught the attention of Count Palen, who had him appointed to the Imperial Academy of Arts at the expense of His Imperial Majesty (1829-33). Studied under Maxim Vorobyov, awarded a major gold medal in 1833. Sent to Italy by the Academy of Arts (1834-37). Worked in Naples, the environs of Rome, Sorrento and Capri.