Entrance to Monaco

Augusta Payne Rathbone

Rathbone captures the particular colors and shapes of the Rock of Monaco, a medieval fortification located in the Old Town district of Monaco, this view being from inside the Palace Square looking outward through double entryways. Its red brick-inlaid pathway leads up a shallow slope to the fortified walls. Rathbone depicts a silhouetted figure sitting on the obliging seating built along the entryway wall; a bright afternoon sun makes the structure appear to glow.

In the 1920s Rathbone furthered her art studies in France after graduation from the University of California, Berkeley. She took inspiration in the small villages on the Mediterranean coast, capturing not only the natural landscapes but the architecture as well. Her signature use of a rich palette combined with the simplest of lines works to communicate the beauty of this hidden, intimate entryway.