IDENTIFIED AS � PORT OF OSTIA ROME � By Follower of Claude Lorrain. This scene originally first painted In 1643 Produced in 1931 as a coloured lithograph by Messrs Knoedler which has been recently purchased and is available with the painting to compare scenes. I could not find out which museum might have custody of the original 1634 painting, and am actively investigating the origins of our example which is an extremely accurate version and composition by an accomplished artist familiar with Claude Lorrain�s most famous works. This fine rendition is a fabulous example of one of his most notorious seaport scenes and captures the imagination and eye of the most particular of art connoisseurs and is becoming hard to find such fine works for sale in today�s galleries without having to pay huge sums of money. All of the well known international art galleries house on display most of his best and prized works, unavailable for private ownership. All of his works were characterised by the softness of the brushwork, which was portrayed in the first half of Lorrain''s career. Despite their identical composition, the paintings differ in minor details, like: different positions and number of ships, different staffage, etc. This seascape combines architectural fantasies and real ruins; the Roman arch and the portico, the medieval towers behind them, and, still further, an Egyptian pyramid. The buildings merely serve to emphasize the main theme, that of the sea and the sunlight, which reflecting from the magnificent architectural decor, returns to the mirror-like surface of the sea. The artist produced many versions of the same harbour scene, carefully painted at sunrise and sunset. CLAUDE LORRAIN ( b.1600-d.1682 )Claude Lorrain was a French painter, draughtsman and etcher of the Baroque era. He born in the Duchy of Lorraine, which was then an independent state within the H...