Alla Rotonda

This is the sole survivor of a series of paintings produced by Rosai at the inn Alla Rotonda
in Venas di Cadore and also the largest of the few known works executed
that year. According to the artist’s autobiographical writings, it was painted during
his stay in the town to rest on doctor’s orders far away from the trenches at the
front, where he served as a volunteer. He appears to have spent a great deal of time
at the Rotonda, the centrepiece of the work, where the painting was found in the attic
together with other canvases produced in exchange for bed and board. Rosai also appears
to have received support for his activity as a painter from an army captain,
who supplied him with canvases and paint. While indebted to Cubism, this study of
the building from life also displays the influence of Cézanne, which characterizes
Rosai’s art as a whole. (Transl. by Paul Metcalfe per Scriptum, Roma)