From the exhibition
Firenze (Florence), View from the Boboli Garden
Johannes Ruff, Swiss · circa 1850

This hand-colored lithograph by Swiss artist Johannes Ruff depicts Florence's skyline from the Boboli Gardens, a popular vantage point for 19th-century travelers and artists. The composition frames the city's iconic landmarks—the Duomo with its distinctive dome, the Palazzo Vecchio's tower, and surrounding hills—through framing trees and garden plantings. Figures in period dress occupy the foreground, establishing scale and narrative context. The work exemplifies the romantic landscape tradition and picturesque aesthetic that dominated European travel art during the mid-1800s, when such vedute (city views) served both as souvenirs for Grand Tour visitors and as documents of urban topography.
Public domain, restored and presented by comicbooks.com CC0