The Praetorium at Lambesa is one of the finest Roman buildings in Africa. The town was founded as an army camp and in the second century AD became the headquarters of the Third Augustan Legion, whose responsibility was the defence of North Africa. The Praetorium was the residence of the Roman military commander. This painting is probably by the artist known as Lauret ainé, i.e. the elder, to distinguish him from his brother François, who also worked in Algeria. It is possible that this watercolour is by François, as it is signed only `Lauret’.

The brothers were both painters of landscapes and rural scenes, born in Pignans (Var). Lauret Ainé worked in Toulon, and then lived in Algeria 1850-62. He spent three years in Spain before revisiting Algeria; then returned to Toulon. François Lauret was a pupil of his brother and of J.H. Belloc in Paris. He also worked in Toulon and subsequently joined his brother in Algeria 1851-54. Both brothers probably exhibited at the Salon, 1841-66.