Christian Stocklin was born in Geneva where he received his initial training. In the 1750s, he went to Bologna to work with the architect, painter and theatrical designer Antonio Galli Bibiena (1700-1774). Stocklin was a very itinerant artist; by 1759 he was in Rome and from 1761-1764 he contributed to the architectural decoration of theatres in Stuttgart and Ludwigsburg, during which time this picture was painted. In 1766 the artist became a citizen of Frankfurt. As well as painting classical landscapes with ruins, Stocklin also painted architectural interiors-mostly churches, in the manner of the Flemish artists Hendrick van Steenwijck the Elder (ca. 1550-1603) and Pieter Neefs the Elder (1578-1656/1661).