ANDREA LOCATELLI
Rome, 1695 – 1741
Architectural capriccio
oil on canvas, cm 120×94
This painting, which is of a considerable size for this genre, is a splendid architectural capriccio depicting ruins of ancient Rome, with a bridge spanning a river in the centre and parts of ancient buildings that could be the remains of a basilica or a temple.
The quality of the light, which appears golden in the foreground and strikes the rocks, causes the tone to fade into deeper and deeper colours in the background, all the way through to the deep blue sky, furrowed by clouds that seem to be growing darker at sunset.
The image features a timeless and poetic atmosphere, which can well be included in the group of works by the most famous painter of that genre in Rome, Andrea Locatelli, who became a true specialist and exported his landscape style throughout Europe.
