Hubert Robert's 'Architectural Fantasy'

In 1802, French painter Hubert Robert created a work of art that is now known as “Architectural Fantasy.” The work of art was done with oil on canvas and it is nearly 6 feet long by 4 feet wide. It is a very intriguing work of art that is unified and balanced throughout. The main feature of the painting is the large, architecturally sound building, and that building has an arched bridge that connects it to town over a source of water that appears to be an aqueduct. The painting comes together as a whole due to two main aspects that Robert implements. First, is the lighting/shading, and second, is the perspective of the entire image. Together these two aspects help to make the composition balanced, unified, and brilliant.
Robert uses lighting/shading
The main and only light source is the natural lighting of the sun, which comes from the left-hand side of the painting. The sun slightly peers over the bridge to diffuse its rays across the whole scenery. Since the sun is in that position, the logical estimation for what time of day it is, is either sunrise or sunset. Robert uses the sun’s light to illuminate the left-hand side of the building. This side is farther back in the distance though, so it doesn’t create one main focal point, and the composition is still balanced. To contrast the strong lighting on the left-hand side, the right-hand side is very shadowed due to the large building and the bridge being in the way of direct sunlight. The darkest area is the foreground, or the closest to the viewer. Whereas, the lightest is the farthest away from the viewer. Again, this helps to create a sense of balance in the composition. The light doesn’t really draw one’s attention to a particular aspect, but rather, it helps move the viewer’s eyes around the entire painting. Furthermore, all the larger, more detailed figures are in the shadows, so the shadow helps to weaken their value in the composition. Robert did this so the viewer would focus mainly on