View of Castel Gandolfo

In his watercolors, Foster depicted an idealized life in rural England. His work was appreciated as Pre-Raphaelite in its intricate detail, but was without the harsh color and unorthodox subjects that made the brotherhood controversial. Foster’s watercolors proved enormously appealing to the Victorians; each new work was eagerly anticipated, and color lithographs after his watercolors helped popularize his imagery. While the English countryside was the inspiration for much of his work, he traveled abroad regularly, and made several trips to Italy in the 1870s. A view of peasants picnicking at the gates of Castel Gandolfo overlooking Lake Albano is the subject of this watercolor.