Claude Lorrain played a fundamental role in the development of landscape painting. He was highly admired by his contemporaries for his subtle treatment of colour, but also for the way he drew and depicted his favourite subjects such as atmospheric phenomena or landscapes at dusk. A great many of his drawings and prints inspired artists up to the 19th century.

Claude forged a specific way of looking at landscape, and was innovative in his treatment of nature, but also in his artistic practice: during his walks in the Roman countryside, he made a note of his observations, his studies of nature and his impressions of the ancient architecture.