View of Rome

Little is known about the obscure artist Michel van Overbeek, who was active from roughly 1650 to 1680. The inscription on the present sheet is consistent with the text that Overbeek inserted atop his other drawings of townscapes, for example View of Town now in the British Museum (1929-5-11-22). Like Van Overbeek's drawing of Westminster, also in the British Museum (Crowle Pennant, vol. III, no. 245), View of Rome shows a meticulously rendered image of the city in the middle and background, whereas the forefront of the sheet presents a more rustic counterpoint to the inhabited area.