Landscape with Ford
47 x 59.5 cm; oil on canvas (FC 227)
The composition is framed by towering trees, with an ancient village in the distance, according to a classic stylistic formula. In the centre of the painting a river is being forded by various figures while a woman observes the scene from the shore. Domenichino executed this painting while still strongly influenced by Annibale Carracci, as can be seen in the celebrated “Aldobrandini Lunettes”; a direct comparison can be made because these paintings are also part of the Collection. Scholars date the work to 1605/1607, when the painter was acquainted with the cultured art theorist Giovan Battista Agucchi, for whom, according to Mancini, the artist painted a series of perfectly executed and captivating landscapes.
