This picture appeared to Oppé to be based on an engraving of J. P. Hackert’s gouache (figure 1). Emily Buckingham owned Towne’s copy of the engraving, which perhaps he acquired in Italy.

Oppé writes of this picture:

Towne’s characteristics in oil emerge very clearly from a fourth picture, a view of San Cosimato, also from Barton Place, but now belonging to Miss E Buckingham, since it appears to be based, not on one of his own sketches, but on an engraving after Hackert. Such development of other men’s ideas is not uncommon [see FT557] . . . Towne follows the engraving faithfully in the general lines and does nothing to add elegance or grace to its barrenness, but while it is uniformly dull and flat, ill-lighted, and little more than a poor composition in one tone, Towne’s hills are nobler in shape, and subtly and richly toned, his lighting effective and the handling solid.¹ 

Although he appears to have based this work on the Hackert print, Towne had visited the area himself in 1781 (FT246, FT247, FT248, FT249, FT250). In an unpublished note Oppé suggested that Towne’s work was not so closely based on Hackert: “The oil painting is a variant of Hackert engraving 1780 Convent of S Cosimato He has improved the lighting & giving character & atmosphere to the hills. . . . Also improved compositing bringing rock forward & into shadow, convent to the Right & in light. Reducing bridge & concentrating the hills.”²