Louise Joséphine
Sarazin de Belmont painted this view during a two-year tour of Italy, which,
remarkably, she financed herself through the sale of her work. Situated in the
Roman countryside, the town of Tivoli, with its waterfalls and ancient ruins,
had attracted artists for more than two centuries when Sarazin arrived. This
canvas, vertically oriented to capture the cataracts’ rushing descent, features
the remains of the ancient Roman Villa of Maecenas. Sarazin, a canny marketer
of her work, understood the appeal of such views. She was the first woman
artist to mount a solo auction in Paris.