Carl Morgenstern captured the Vesta Temple in an unusual, almost square format. The circular temple in the Sabine mountains above the Anio gorge was a favourite among painters. It was usually depicted in portrait format together with the masses of water cascading from the steep cliffs below. Morgenstern moved it out of the horizontal centre of the picture by showing it from below. The section of rock below, which is only depicted in parts and with visible brushstrokes, obscures the artist’s position. The date scratched in with a paintbrush handle is typical of the oil sketch made on site.