View of Florence from the Boboli Gardens

When Corot came to Florence in 1834, the Pitti Palace and the gardens behind it belonged to the grand dukes of Tuscany, the Austrian Habsburg-Lorraine family who had followed the Medici in 1737. The Medici had laid out the Boboli Gardens on the hill in the 16th century, and from the upper terraces the whole city opens up below. Beyond a stone balustrade the roofs spread out, with the great dome of the cathedral and Giotto's bell tower in the centre and, further right, the tall tower of the Palazzo Vecchio, the old seat of government. A cypress rises in the middle. On the terrace two Franciscan friars in brown habits stand talking, and a third figure waits alone by the balustrade. The Louvre gives only a broad date, and the French national catalogue suggests around 1835 to 1840, after his return to Paris.