FRANZ KNEBEL La Sarraz, 1809 - Rome, 1877 The Fountain of the Tritons and the Temple of Hercules the Victor Signed F Knebel f, lower left, Rome 1864 lower right Oil on canvas, 66.5X104 cm This luminous landscape by Swiss painter Franz Knebel offers a wide and striking view of Rome, with the splendid Fountain of the Tritons and the majestic Temple of Hercules the Victor in the foreground. This was one of the subjects most appreciated by the European aristocracy and the upper middle class of the 19th century, who saw in these views a privileged souvenir of the Grand Tour, an educational and cultural journey to classical lands. Knebel adopts a brilliant and harmonious palette, capable of restoring the freshness of the Roman atmosphere. The figures, immersed in the landscape, are treated with a delicate pastoral aura, evocative of a serene and idealised existence under the clear sky of the Eternal City. The softness of the brushstroke, combined with the skilful use of glazing, gives the work an almost dreamlike quality, while maintaining scrupulous fidelity to reality. The clear, limpid morning light amplifies the feeling of purity and stillness, transporting the observer into a dimension of contemplation and harmony. Knebel's love for Rome is particularly evident in his wide-ranging views, in which the architectural element merges with the natural landscape in a refined balance. Works like this one, featured in our catalogue, not only testify to his technical mastery, but also reflect the sensitivity of an artist who was able to capture the poetic soul of the city and its surroundings, making it immortal in the eyes of travellers and collectors of his time Reference bibliography P A De Rosa, Charles-François Knébel Swiss-Roman painter, in Lazio Ieri e Oggi, year XXXV, November ; December 1999, ad vocem