The vision of ideal landscapes in the 18th century was actually made of imaginary views which had a composite origin, superimposing scenes and buildings which in reality are in different places.

A painting representing such a landscape was called a capriccio. You may visualise how such landscape paintings were composed.

How to compose a Claude painting:

most classical landscape paintings combine views of several places into one composition;

usually a view of a seashore - like the bay of Naples - .....

..... is adorned with a temple imitated from those to be found in Rome in the middle of the city - such as the Pantheon.

You can practise composing a Claude landscape: click on the button "Ideal landscape" to see the Roman Pantheon appear on the Neapolitan seashore, an

You may see Claude ideal landscapes composed in this way at the National Gallery

Such composite landscapes were created in