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signed and dated lower right B. Breenborch. f. 1632 oil on panel Breenbergh was one of many northern artists who traveled to Italy and found immense inspiration in the southern landscape. He arrived in Rome around 1619 and remained there until 1629. He was, in fact, one of the founding members of the Schildersbent, an association of northern artists active in Rome. This group of artists, which included Paul Bril and Cornelis van Poelenburgh, created an entirely new genre of landscape painting. They drew inspiration from the land that surrounded them and concentrated on depicting light and space. Breenbergh's interest in caverns and the play of light and shadows among figures and ruins can also be seen in a panel depicting The Cave of Egeria (see M. Roethlisberger, Bartholomeus Breenbergh, The Paintings, 1981, cat. no. 193). The artist has chosen a somewhat similar vantage point; an archway or cavern from where dark shadows give way to a light and airy landscape extending beyond. In addition to similarities in atmosphere, there are also certain Italianizing elements which recur in Breenbergh's oeuvre. For example, the recumbent figure of Silenus in the present painting is similar to a reclining River God in Eliezer and Rebecca (op. cit., cat. no. 82).