A capriccio of Tivoli with a waterfall and shepherds

The Temple of the Sibyl (or Vesta), seen here on the rocky outcrop above the thundering waterfall, was one of van Bloemen’s favoured motifs. The ruined structure appears on several occasions throughout van Bloemen’s oeuvre. The dramatic rock formations in the present picture, the foaming waters of the cascade and the dramatic contrast of brilliant patches of sunlight against deep shadows show something of the painter’s engagement with theories of the Sublime. Centring on notions that theorised the awe-inspiring and overwhelming power of nature, this proved a powerful concept for artist during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and van Bloemen’s dramatic landscape, marked by its distinct contrasts of light, shadow, proximity and distance is clearly situated within this intellectual framework.

Though Netherlandish by birth, van Bloemen (or l’Orrizonte as he later became known) spent the majority of his career in Italy. Inspired by the classicising landscapes of painters like Gaspard Dught, he created works which stemmed from the Flemish landscape tradition, filtered through the dynamic style of Italianate views and effects of light. Van Bloemen was considered one of the most successful landscapists in Rome during the early eighteenth century and was widely revered by his contemporaries. As well as his own independent practice, painters like Carlo Maratti, Placido Costanzi and Pompeo Batoni collaborated with him, adding the staffage to van Bloemen's landscapes.