Claude, 'A Seaport', 1644

This warm, tranquil scene is bathed in sunlight. The sun sits low in the sky, and the clock on the building to the left records the time as five o‘clock. A coat of arms with three golden fleurs-de-lis (emblem of the French king) against a blue background can be seen above the clock and faintly on the ship’s flags to the right, suggesting this painting was intended for a French patron. Perhaps he is the figure dressed in a red cloak and carrying a sword who stands closest to the ship – a kneeling man could be pointing towards him or to the magnificent architecture on the opposite side of the painting. A group of well-dressed men to the left are in conversation while others work hard: they row passengers to the larger ships and secure a boat’s mooring. A musician sits beside his lute, and a woman and child watch those gathered at the port.

This is one of a number of seaport scenes by Claude without a story taken from literature. This scene is mostly imaginary, although the architecture is based on sixteenth-century buildings in Rome. Claude’s aristocratic patrons were keen to link their names with the ancient grandeur of Rome. The most distant building combines features taken from the Villa Farnesina and Palazzo Senatorio; the four towers just visible in Claude’s painting are close in design to the campanile (bell-tower) of the palace. The ornate entrance to the building in the foreground is inspired by the gateway to the Farnese gardens, created by Cardinal Alessandro Farnese. On the balustrade of the building is a statue of Venus, the goddess of love. During the 1640s, when this work was painted, the statue belonged to the Medici family, wealthy Italian bankers who were Claude’s patrons. Between these two buildings stands the Arch of Titus, an ancient Roman landmark.

Such port scenes were popular in Rome during the seventeenth century, and Claude produced a number of them. He painted earlier works with a similar composition for Pope Urban VIII (Alnwick Castle, Northumberland) and Angelo Giorio, who became a cardinal in 1643 and was the owner of the Villa Farnesina, which is referred to in this painting. Many of Claude’s paintings were later purchased by northern European aristocrats travelling around the Continent on what became known as the ’Grand Tour' – an opportunity to see the great works of ancient and modern art, and to acquire examples for their own collections.