Our watercolor portrays one of the most picturesque views of Rome, a subject favored by many artists who stayed in the city. It is also a valuable testament to the artistic partnership between the Swiss artist François Keiserman and the Roman Bartolomeo Pinelli. As Oreste Raggi notes: “Upon returning [Pinelli] to Rome, he continued to produce various kinds of works, including some drawings, which were sold in the streets at night and were seen by a certain German, Keiserman - who at that time had gained some fame for painting landscapes in watercolor - who admired them for their style, especially in depicting costumes, led him to ask the young artist if he would like to collaborate with him. [...] Keiserman always took him along to villas and castles near Rome, where one would paint the landscape and the other would add the figures.”. 

In our drawing, Pinelli's contribution is recognizable in the figures of boatmen at the bottom left, busy mooring a boat. He depicts the common folk with great spontaneity, as was his style, harmoniously integrating them into the view sketched by Keiserman. The latter, who settled in Rome starting in 1789, gained considerable fame as a watercolorist of landscapes. This is evidenced by the abundant praise written by Giuseppe Antonio Guattani, who stated: “The brush of Mr. Keiserman flourishes by nature, always rich and vague for the freshness and transparency of his colors.”.

According to art historian P. A. De Rosa, he was one of the main exponents of the “evolution of landscape painting in the Roman environment between classicism and romantic naturalism.”.