Outdoors in the Museum
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| Ancient urn in the atrium/forecourt of S. Cecilia |
Plein air, or open air, painting inevitably conjures up images of
landscapes and artists perched in splendid isolation. But one of the most
compelling aspects of the Italian landscape is the evidence of human artifice,
with or without a juxtaposition with Nature. So much of Italy, both in and out
of town, is a museo all’aperto, and I am mostly drawn to subjects that
include the marvelous works of the human hand that the country abounds in, seen
in brilliant, changing outdoor light. Rome in particular offers this, indeed
there is nowhere one can go in Rome, even something as ostensibly rural as the Parco della
Caffarella near the via
Appia Antica is full of fragments of the manmade.
So, offered here are two ancient remains, prominently and picturesquely
sited in the Eternal City. Just watching the light change on the Trophies of
Marius as the afternoon sun descends is a lesson in plein air painting.
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| The Trophies of Marius, on the parapet of the Campidoglio |
