The Ruins of Cicero’s Villa in the Bay of Baiae, 1909. Oil on canvas, 13¾ x 27¼ inches (34.9 x 69.2 cm).
Corbet’s painting looks across the Bay of Baiae to the ruins of Cicero’s Villa in the distance. The painting is dominated in the right foreground by the rocky cliffs that surround the Bay. Behind the ruins of the town a row of red-brown hills stretches across the horizon with a tall purple mountain in the right centre.
The ancient city of Baiae was built on the Cumaean Peninsula and is located just north of Naples and 150 miles south of Rome. It became a leisure resort known for its decadence where the Roman elite had their villas, including not only the distinguished orator and statesman Cicero, but also Roman generals like Pompey the Great and Mark Antony, and emperors including Julius Caesar, Hadrian, Caligula, and Nero. The rich and powerful were attracted by its mild climate, thermal springs, and luxuriant vegetation. The town had magnificent views of the Gulf of Puteoli and the Bay of Baiae but was also situated close to Mount Vesuvius. The city was sacked by a Muslim army in the 8th century AD and became entirely deserted in 1500 because of malaria. Parts of the city submerged in the sixteenth century when the ground sank due to volcanic activity and there was a rise in the sea level.
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Last modified 19 December 2022