Caprice View with Ruins

A crumbling, overgrown archway towers above a man and a young child carrying a stick, who are picked out by warm sunlight. The eye is led into the scene by the contrast of light, which illuminates the white stone building beyond, and shade. The use of simple blocks of colour and black lines to suggest architectural details might give the impression that this work was painted quickly on the spot, but it was most likely created in Guardi’s studio.This is one of a group of very small capricci, which have been framed together since the early nineteenth century (in another, a stylish couple wander towards a ruined domed building, while the third shows two men standing beside a calm pool and huge archway). These imaginary scenes, inspired by the Italian countryside and classical architecture, were collected as souvenirs by visitors to Venice, where Guardi lived and worked.