Artwork
Blue Veneto river
Blue Veneto river is a watercolor work on paper by the Contemporary Realist artist Carole Robb. It dates from 2004 and is held in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum.
About this work
This watercolor shows a blue river in Italy’s Veneto region. Carole Robb painted it in 2004 using watercolors. It’s part of a set of fourteen works she made while traveling through Rome to Tivoli and the Veneto.
Robb studied at the British School in Rome in the 1970s. Her style looks back to old master painting instead of abstract art.
Check out the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Overview
Blue Veneto river is a 2004 watercolour by Carole Robb, part of a series of fourteen works documenting her journey from Rome to Tivoli and the Veneto region in Italy.
Subject & Meaning
The painting depicts a blue river in Italy’s Veneto region, with compositional elements (silt buildup, brushwork, colour depth) suggesting a location near Venice, highlighting the region's characteristic geography.
Technique & Style
Executed in watercolour, the work showcases Robb’s figurative style, informed by old master painting traditions, contrasting with the abstract tendencies of her contemporaries.
History & Provenance
Created during Robb’s 2003/4 travels, this piece is one of fourteen (E.3719 to 3732-2004) in the V&A collection, offering a contemporary counterpart to the museum’s 18th- and 19th-century Grand Tour watercolours of Italy.
Artist & collection
Artist
Carole Robb painted delicate watercolours of Italian cityscapes and canals in the early 2000s.
