Description
Thomas Hartley Cromek’s detailed renderings of classical ruins in Italy and Greece appealed to British visitors seeking mementos of their Grand Tour travels. Like many artists of his generation, Cromek went to Italy as a young man and settled in Rome, remaining abroad for 20 years and establishing a solid reputation as a watercolorist. Periodically he returned to England to court potential patrons and sell his work. Upon one of these journeys home, he was summoned to Buckingham Palace where Queen Victoria and Prince Albert purchased several watercolors. This drawing exemplifies the topographical accuracy and clarity of Cromek’s most successful work.
Provenance
Reverend and Mrs. Danila Pascu, Cleveland, OH, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (?-1975); Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (1975-)
Accession Number
1975.149
Medium
watercolor with black ink and graphite underdrawing
Dimensions
Sheet: 52.4 x 36 cm (20 5/8 x 14 3/16 in.)
Classification
Drawing
Credit Line
Gift of the Reverend and Mrs. Danila Pascu
Tags
Drawing Neoclassical & Romantic (1751–1850) Watercolor Ink Graphite & Pencil British
Background & Context
Background Story
Thomas Hartley Cromek (1809-1873) was a British painter known for the precisely observed architectural views of Rome and Italy that make him one of the most accomplished architectural watercolorists of the 19th century. The Arch of Titus and the Coliseum, Rome from 1846 depicts two of the most famous Roman monuments in the precisely observed, architectural manner that distinguishes Cromek's best work from the more general architectural painting of his contemporaries. The 1846 date places this in Cromek's most productive period, when he was producing the precisely observed architectural views of Rome that are his most accomplished works, and the famous Roman monuments subject shows his talent for depicting the grandeur of Roman architecture with precise observation.
Cultural Impact
The Arch of Titus and the Coliseum, Rome is important in the history of British architectural watercolor because it demonstrates the precisely observed, architectural manner that Cromek brought to Roman subjects as one of the most accomplished architectural watercolorists of the 19th century. Cromek's precisely observed architectural views of Rome—depicting the grandeur of Roman architecture with the precise observation that is his most distinctive contribution—represent one of the most accomplished traditions in British architectural watercolor, and the 1846 painting shows this tradition at its most precisely observed.
Why It Matters
The Arch of Titus and the Coliseum is Cromek's precisely observed architectural watercolor: two of the most famous Roman monuments rendered in the precise manner of one of the most accomplished architectural watercolorists of the 19th century. The 1846 painting shows the combination of precise observation with grand architectural subject matter that makes Cromek one of the most accomplished architectural watercolorists.
