P. Dieterle, M. Dieterle, C. Lebeau, Corot: cinquième supplément à "L'Oeuvre de Corot" par A. Robaut et Moreau-Nélaton, Éditions Floury, Paris, 1905, Paris 2002, p.14, cat. no. 11, reproduced p. 15.

The following condition report has been provided by Simon Parkes of Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc. 502 East 74th St. New York, NY 212-734-3920, simonparkes@msn.com , an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. This rare painting is in very good state. The canvas on which it is painted is lined with glue. The paint layer is clean and the only restoration of note addresses a diagonal crack or scratch in the sky in the upper left corner. The texture of the paint is slightly flattened, and the varnish may be a little slick. Although there may be some advantage to cleaning the picture and reexamining it, it is currently in excellent condition and could be hung as is.
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

Published for the first time in 2002 (see Literature), this painting was known from a detailed sketch made by Corot's close friend and biographer, Alfred Robaut, which in turn was based on a copy made by a certain architect named Rouault ("Notes de Robaut", in Cabinet des Estampes, Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Paris).  This painting is datable to circa 1826-27, during Corot's first sojourn in Italy.  He had arrived in Rome in December of 1825 and was enthralled by the city and the light.  The ancient ruins in the city and surroundings were among his favorite subjects.  Here he has captured the disintegrating and overgrown arches of a section of the Claudian Aqueduct (Aqua Claudia) on a cloudless, sunny day setting off the r𒀰ich colors of the stone against the green of the vegetation.

The Villa Wolkonsky is located on a hill just to the northeast of the Basilica of San Giovanni in Laterano, between a stretch of the Aqua Claudia and the Aurelian Wall.  The original villa wa🌟s built by Princess Zenaide Wolkonsky, a wife of an aide-de-camp to Tsar Alexander I and was famed for its beautiful gardens.  The present day Viꦗlla Wolkonsky, which was re-built In the early 1890s by her descendants, has served as the residence of the British Ambassador to Italy since 1947.