François de Nomé, 'Fantastic Ruins with Saint Augustine and the Child', 1623

Buildings crumble and collapse along a seashore harshly illuminated against a dark sky. These unstable structures are probably assembled from elements of ancient and modern architecture familiar to the artist. The domed building beside a Gothic church-like tower with damaged stained glass windows is based on the ancient Temple of Vesta at Tivoli, near Rome. Stone statues lie in pieces, sit in niches or are part of reliefs on an altar or sarcophagus. The curiously tall grey stone pillars that stand apart from the buildings may have been based on examples studied by the artist in Italy and France.

At the bottom of the picture are two tiny figures with awkward, elongated bodies. They are Saint Augustine and the child, whose legend provides the theme for this dream-like scene of fantasy architecture. Augustine was a Father of the Church and Bishop of Hippo in north Africa. One day, as he walked by the shore, he saw a small child trying to empty all the water out of the sea using a seashell. Augustine told the child it was impossible, and the child replied that it was equally impossible for Augustine to explain the mysteries of the Trinity, God’s three roles as Father, Son and Holy Ghost. In the seventeenth century the subject was often painted for Augustinian convents, but because of the insignificance of the figures it would seem unlikely that this work was intended for worship.

Acquired in 1923 as the work of an unknown Dutch painter, the picture is now attributed to François de Nomé, also known as ‘Monsù Desiderio’, who came from Lorraine. There is little attempt to create an impression of depth or three-dimensionality, though white impasto paint has been used generously and in freely applied brushstrokes to suggest the effects of stone. Transparent layers of grey paint have been used for the buildings positioned further back in the composition.