Carole Robb is one of a number of talented British artists who studied at the British School in Rome during the 1970s. Like Stephen Farthing (b.1950) and Christopher Le Brun (b.1951), she rejected abstraction in favour of a figurative style informed by old master painting. This drawing is part of a group of fourteen works (E.3719 to 3732-2004) that illustrate Robb's journey through Rome to Tivoli, and the Veneto, that she undertook in 2003/4. As such, it constitutes a contemporary uprise to the V&A's numerous Grand Tour watercolours of Italy, dating from the 18th and early 19th centuries.
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This gouache drawing is of an interior view of the Venetian Palace ‘Ca’ d’Oro’. The name Ca’ d’Oro, meaning ‘House of Gold’ or ‘Golden House’ describes the once gilded façade of this restored fifteenth-century palazzo, situated on the Grand Canal. Rather than focus on the famous exterior, Robb has chosen to depict a light-filled interior space. Designed by architects Giovanni and Bartolomeo Buon (1355–1443 and 1374–c.1464), the celebrated architects of the Doge’s Palace, Ca’ d’Oro is an example of the Venetian Gothic style. In Robb’s gouache work, the arch headed windows are the only visible ornamental features of this Gothic facade. However dazzling pastel shades achieve an impression of opulence and decoration. The dappled effect of pastel colours on the floor suggest the effect of sunlight upon water reflected through glass window panes.
