The DCMS said the artwork was painted in Rome in about 1640.
“Thanks to its scale, grandeur, handling and quality, this work is considered to be one of the most ambitious pieces created by Claude Lorrain,” it said.
Christopher Baker, from the reviewing committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest, said: “It was first recorded in the collection of a Flemish merchant in Rome and was later displayed for many years at Woburn Abbey, Bedfordshire, as part of the splendid collection of the Dukes of Bedford.”
DCMS said the committee made its recommendation as the work was of “outstanding aesthetic importance and its outstanding significance to the study of Claude, his collectors, and the development of landscape painting”.
Culture Minister, Baroness Twycross, said: “We are very fortunate to have had this incredible painting in the UK for over 250 years.”
She said she hoped it would remain in the country “for many years longer”.
The decision on the export licence application will be deferred until 15 April.