CLAUDE LORRAIN (1604/5-82)
A View of the Campagna from Tivoli
1645Oil on canvas | 98.2 x 131.2 cm (support, canvas/panel/stretcher external) | RCIN 404688
These two shepherds conversing represent Claude’s minimum quota of figures. Instead the subject here is the countryside around Rome, where a visitor today could still appreciate a similar view. The artist captures the light just before the sun disappears. The rocky landscape and cascades emerge from behind a grey haze, which turns blue where the land plateaus. The small bump on the horizon is the dome of St Peter’s Basilica in Rome.