Derain, André (1880-1954)
La route vers Castel Gandolfo (Road to Castel Gandolfo)
c.1921
Oil on canvas, 62.5 x 50.8 cm
Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg
In 1921 Derain lived for a time at Castel Gandolfo, a picturesque spot south-east of Rome that is still today the summer residence of the Pope. It was constructed above Lake Albano back in the Middle Ages. Archaeologists discovered that this was the site of Ancient Roman Alba Longa, one of the oldest cities in Latium, destroyed by King Tullus Hostilius in 655 BC. When he found himself on the ancient road leading to Castel Gandolfo, flanked by rocks and mighty, centuries-old trees, Derain could not help feeling to be connected with history. In this landscape he conveyed the austerity and monumentality that seemed to him the finest and chief characteristic of Ancient Roman art. In the painting one does not immediately notice the solitary figure walking down the road. It is there to provide scale, to let the viewer sense the smallness of the human being in the face of history and nature. (SHM)