The Cloisters of San Lorenzo fuori le mura in Rome

Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg painted The Cloisters of San Lorenzo fuori le mura in Rome in 1814, during his time in Italy. The work is an oil painting on canvas, measuring 38.8 × 42.2 cm.

The painting is held in the collection of the Statens Museum for Kunst (National Gallery of Denmark), where it remains today. It was exhibited as part of "Fire danske klassikere: Nicolai Abildgaard, Jens Juel, Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg og Bertel Thorvaldsen."

The painting is held in the collection of the Statens Museum for Kunst in Copenhagen. While the work depicts the Cloisters of San Lorenzo fuori le mura in Rome, the artwork itself is not located in Italy. The museum maintains the piece as part of its permanent holdings of Danish classical art.

In terms of exhibition history, the work was included in the show titled "Fire danske klassikere: Nicolai Abildgaard, Jens Juel, Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg og Bertel Thorvaldsen."

Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg’s 1814 oil painting captures the cloister and adjoining monastery of San Lorenzo fuori le mura on the outskirts of Rome. The composition presents a tranquil courtyard framed by stone arches, with a row of columns supporting a modest brick façade. Light filters across the reddish walls, creating a pattern of bright and shadowed patches that emphasize the quiet atmosphere of the space.

San Lorenzo fuori le mura, one of Rome’s ancient basilicas, features a cloister that historically served as a quiet space for monks. Eckersberg’s choice of this site aligns with early‑19th‑century interest in classical architecture and the romanticized view of monastic life, offering a visual study of how historic structures were integrated into the urban fabric.