Panorama from the Sasso

For Claude Lorrain, one of the most important aspects of his adopted city of Rome was its surrounding countryside, the Campagna, which the artist studied, sketched, and painted all his life. His evocative classical landscapes were sought after by papal patrons as well as by aristocrats and royalty throughout Europe. For nearly a century after his death, travelers on the grand tour of European capitals judged real scenery according to his standards. In Claude’s landscapes, as in this superb drawing, order and tranquility prevail; men perform no labor but rather exist peacefully in beautiful pastoral settings blessed by the warm Roman light. Depicted here is the region around the Sasso, a large rock ten miles south of Civitavecchia, Rome’s modern seaport. Evidently made at the site of the rock itself, the drawing is remarkable in its mastery of subtle ink washes that evocatively suggest, rather than describe, the landscape and sea. Individual trees stand out as nearly geometric forms against the unifying light. The drawing’s horizontal format enhances the idyllic landscape’s panoramic sweep, which the viewer savors along with the solitary shepherd.