Probably by Jean-Antoine Constantin, 'Bridge at Subiaco', about 1777

This striking oil sketch depicts the bridge of Saint Francis (Italian: Ponte di San Francesco), which crosses the River Aniene at the foot of Subiaco, a town lying just over 70 kilometres to the east of Rome. When completed in 1358, the bridge was somewhat of a status symbol. It was financed by the local abbot Ademario who ruled over Subiaco at that time. He obtained the money via a ransom paid by the rival town of Tivoli in exchange for the safe return of its prisoners following the Battle of Campo d’Arco, which the abbot’s troops had won. The bridge was eventually named after the nearby Franciscan convent. Saint Francis had visited Subiato with Cardinal Ugiolino di Conti (later Pope Gregory IX) in their pilgrimage to the Sacro Speco, the Holy Cave on Mount Taleo where Saint Benedict of Nursia lived as a hermit for three years until the Easter of AD 500.

Subiaco itself is not visible in the composition, although the majestic Simbruini Mountains, which dominate from the north-east, are just discernible in the upper right. Moving further left, one’s eye is drawn to a large hill covered in rustic buildings, shrubs and trees. However, it is the humpback bridge that dominates the composition, its bold structure and angular lines accentuated by the dramatic play of light and shade. Made of a local ochre-coloured stone known as cardellino (goldfinch), it is covered with small paving stones and culminates in a fortified quadrangular tower, topped with red tiles and once used as an entry control point. The bridge measures about 37 metres in length, but the inclusion of three tiny figures beneath its 20-metre-high arch makes it appear somewhat larger. Two of them are seated, while a third, dressed in black with a matching hat, stands quietly with his arms folded, observing the river.

On stylistic grounds, the painting may be attributed to Jean-Antoine Constantin, sometimes known as Constantin of Aix, who is considered one of the founders of the Provençal school of landscape painting. Like many French artists of his generation, he spent a number of years living in Rome in order to complete his artistic education. He was particularly drawn to the beauty of the countryside around the city and further afield, which probably brought him to Subiaco. Many of his contemporaries honed their craft by making similarly free plein-air sketches, including Valenciennes, who also arrived in Rome in 1777. Such sketches were not designed to be sold as finished works of art but rather were studies painted from nature that would test the artist’s powers of observation.

Sadly, Constantin was plagued with ill health and economic problems and died in poverty. His oil sketches and some 1,200 drawings, now in the Musée Granet in Aix-en-Provence, were purchased from his widow as an act of charity.