Patch was banished from the Papal States in 1755 so this picture was perhaps painted with reference to an earlier work.

The Falls are depicted from the front, with a tall tree closing the composition on the left. A gentleman can be seen talking to a hermit in the foreground while small groups of people admire the water. The handling and colour of the painting are strongly reminiscent of the work of Claude-Joseph Vernet, in whose studio Patch worked between 1750 and 1753. The fact that Patch, by now a 'bridge painter' and caricaturist in Florence, should return to an old subject and paint it with unexpectedly romantic feeling suggests that he had been reading Burke.


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