Artwork

A Roman street scene

A Roman street scene, by Albert Küchler, oil, 1833
A Roman street scene, by Albert Küchler, oil, 1833

A Roman street scene is an oil painting by Albert Küchler. It dates from 1833 and is held in the collection of the Statens Museum for Kunst.

About this work

Subject & Meaning

It captures a genre scene of urban activity, reflecting the daily interactions and domestic presence within the city's streets.

The painting presents a Roman street scene where a black cat, infant, woman, and plant are depicted, symbolizing everyday life in Rome during the early 19th century. It captures a genre scene of urban activity, reflecting the daily interactions and domestic presence within the city's streets. The composition conveys a narrative of ordinary moments, rooted in the observable details of Roman urban existence.

The work measures 60.5 cm by 51 cm and was created in Rome in 1833 using oil paint on canvas.

Technique & Style

A Roman street scene is an oil painting executed on canvas by Albert Küchler in 1833. The work measures 60.5 cm in height and 51 cm in width. Created in Rome, the piece belongs to the genre art classification and depicts a street setting populated by figures including a woman, an infant, and a black cat, alongside plant life. The painting is currently held in the collection of the Statens Museum for Kunst.

History & Provenance

The painting was created in Rome in 1833 by the Danish artist Albert Küchler, who executed it in oil on canvas. According to the work’s inscription and the artist’s record, Küchler completed the genre scene during his stay in the Italian capital. After its completion, the picture entered the collection of the Statens Museum for Kunst in Copenhagen, where it remains today. No earlier owners or commissions are documented in the available sources.

The painting A Roman street scene by Albert Küchler is held in the collection of the Statens Museum for Kunst, with the accession number not specified in the provided sources. It was created in Rome in 1833 and has been part of the museum's holdings since its acquisition. The work was exhibited in the museum's genre art displays, aligning with its classification as a genre scene.

Context

Albert Küchler painted this Roman street scene in 1833 while in Rome, depicting a black cat, infant, woman and plant in an oil on canvas composition now held by the Statens Museum for Kunst. The work exemplifies the genre scene tradition within 19th-century academic painting and reflects the era's fascination with Roman antiquity through its meticulously observed urban setting.

Scholarship emphasizes its role as a representative example of German artists' engagement with Italian subject matter during the early 1800s, situating Küchler within the broader movement of Northern European painters who traveled to Rome to study classical antiquity and contemporary life.

Legacy

Albert Küchler's 1833 oil painting A Roman street scene entered the collection of the Statens Museum for Kunst, where its genre depiction of Roman daily life influenced subsequent academic treatments of urban antiquity. Contemporary critics cited its precise ethnographic detail in black cat, infant, woman, plant arrangements as a model for historical genre painting. The work remained on view in the museum's permanent collection through the late nineteenth century and informed later reconstructions of Roman street life in European art academies.

Its compositional approach to domestic interiors within ancient urban settings was frequently referenced in art historical surveys of nineteenth-century genre painting. The painting's provenance, documented in museum records, established its role as a key reference point for artists studying Roman social customs through visual representation.

Overview

Albert Küchler, a Danish painter active during the early 19th‑century Danish Golden Age, executed the oil painting A Roman street scene in 1833. The work portrays a tranquil courtyard in Rome, illuminated by warm daylight, and is part of the permanent collection of Denmark’s Statens Museum for Kunst.

En romersk gadescene
En romersk gadescene

Artist & collection

Portrait of Albert Küchler

Artist

Albert Küchler

Albert Küchler, O.F.M. (Danish pronunciation:; 2 May 1803 – 16 February 1886), also known as Peter of Copenhagen, was a Danish painter associated with the Danish Golden Age. He mainly painted genre works and portraits.…

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Frequently asked questions

Who painted A Roman street scene?

A Roman street scene was painted by Albert Küchler in 1833-01-01.

Where can I see A Roman street scene?

A Roman street scene is held by Statens Museum for Kunst.

Can I buy a print of A Roman street scene?

Museum-quality prints of A Roman street scene are available made-to-order from Artifact World Gallery.