Temple of Paestum, Italy

William Havell, a prominent English landscape painter and a founding member of the Society of Painters in Watercolours, created "Temple of Paestum, Italy" in 1830. This work reflects a significant period in Havell's career, following his travels to Italy in 1827 with fellow artist Thomas Uwins, where he visited Florence, Rome, and Naples. Having spent several years in India finding lucrative employment, Havell returned to Europe and increasingly focused on oil painting, though he continued to work in watercolors. His Italian subjects became a frequent theme in his exhibitions at the Royal Academy, alongside scenes from Wales and the Lake District. The choice of Paestum, an ancient Greek city in Southern Italy famous for its well-preserved Doric temples, highlights Havell's interest in classical ruins and picturesque scenery, a common subject for Romantic landscape painters of his era. Despite the artistic merit and delicate color of his works, they often struggled to attract public attention during his lifetime, a situation that has since been re-evaluated, with his oil paintings gaining considerable estimation after his death.