Paintings by Louis Ducros depicting Maria Fedorovna and Paul Petrovich during their Grand tour

Louis Ducros, The Grand Duke Paul and his retinue in the forum Romanum, 1782,

oil on canvas, Pavlovsk museum, Russia

The Maria and Paul chose the Roman forum ( Campo Vaccino) as the backdrop for one of the two paintings.The visitors have assembled at the foot of the Capitol, and a page is still arranging the young Duchess's scarf. The man standing in front of them seems to be organising poses for the portrait. The figures on the left-hand side are the Grand Duke's guards and on the right of a group of women and children  has assembled to gaze in awe at the elegant group of people. The picture is framed on one side by the Temple of Saturn and on the left by an oak which hides the Arch of Septimius Severus. In the background are the columns of the Temple of the Dioscuri the monumental arcades of the Basilica of Maxentius, the Colosseum and the Arch of Titus, with the Alban Hills beyond.

Louis Ducros, The Grand Duke Paul and the Grand Duchess Maria at Tivoli, 1782,

Pavlovsk palace-museum, oil on canvas

The water filled grotto is carved into the rocks immediately below the temple of Sibyl. A bizzare rock formation forms a narrow entrance, giving a view of the tumbling waterfall. Unlike the usual picturesque views of Tivoli, which mostly show the Temple of the Sibyl above the waterfall, Ducros has chosen a more unusual viewpoint to emphasize the natural drama of the scene.

The images and text are taken from the following book: ed. Andrew Wilton, Grand tour. The lure of Italy in the eighteenth century, Tate gallery publishing, 1996, p.140, 142