Giovanni Paolo PANINI (Piacenza, 1691 - Rome, 1765) View of the Campo Vaccino and View of the Colosseum, Rome Pair of canvases The view of the Colosseum signed and dated 'I.P PANINI Px 1743' lower left In carved and gilt oak channel frames, French work of the Louis XVI period View of Campo Vaccino and View of the Colosseum, Rome, canvas, a pair, one signed and dated, by G. P. Panini 29.13 x 38.58 in. 74 x 98 cm Provenance: In the family of the present owners since the middle of the 19th century; Private collection, Oise This magnificent pair of unpublished canvases depicts two emblematic views of ancient Rome, one looking towards the Forum, the Capitol and the city, the other showing the famous ruins of the Colosseum and Constantine's triumphal arch. The first is taken from the Via Sacra, the main axis of the ancient city, in front of the Arch of Constantine, looking north as far as the Capitoline Hill. It shows, from left to right, the corner of the façade of Santa Maria Liberatrice (demolished in 1899), immediately beyond which is the Temple of Castor and Pollux, formed by three columns surmounted by a section of architrave; in the background are the ruins of the Temple of Saturn. In the centre of the perspective, through the Arch of Septimius Severus, steps lead up to the Capitoline Hill. The tower of the Palazzo Senatorio, the highest landmark on the horizon, stands out against the mass of buildings. To its right, in the distance, the Piazza del Campidoglio is hidden from view, but you can make out the transept of the Basilica of Santa Maria in Aracoeli. Below, the Arch of Septimius Severus protrudes from the trees, revealing the dome of the church of Santi Luca e Martina. The arches of the Basilica of Maxentius and Constantine stand on the far right of the canvas. This veduta, described in the following way, facing north, was known to Panini only through one other version in a private collection1, which included numerous variations in the angle of the shot, the choice of ancient buildings and the number and position of the figures. The counterpart shows the Colosseum from what is now Via Celio Vibenna2. From left to right, you can see the ruins of the Palatine, the Arch of Constantine and the Colosseum amphitheatre. It can be compared with the nearby view, signed and dated 1735, in the Detroit Institute of Art, which has similarities in the right-hand part of the composition, but includes numerous differences in the angle of the shot and in the figures3. Painted around 1750, our pair shows the artist at the peak of his talent, reinventing himself yet again in his career. Until then, Panini had painted many views of the Forum, but taken from the Clivus Capitolinus4 - the road leading up to the Capitol - looking south towards the Arch of Titus, sometimes combined with a view of the Colosseum. He was famous at the time for these imaginary reconstructions, his capricci, which were much sought after by collectors. In contrast, here he gives two landscapes with precise topography, a rarer genre in his work. He reinforces a sense of reality by animating the ancient site with contemporary figures going about their business: some are conversing, riding on a donkey, a washerwoman is carrying her washing, a shepherdess is looking after her flock, and some are barefoot. The painter's virtuosity lies in unifying the scene through a strong contrast between the deep shadow created by the façade on the left and in the foreground, or by the embankment on the second canvas, which reinforces the sense of spatial distance, and the rest of the scene bathed in sunlight. Panini combines ruined architectural elements with more modern ones in a picturesque setting. For the enthusiasts of the time, the visitors to the Grand Tour, these panoramic views fixed the memory of a leading cultural destination - Rome - and of the classical heritage, in a work that was both decorative and intellectual. The artist Panini was the most prominent painter of the veduta genre in Rome during the second third of the eighteenth century. Allegedly trained in his home town with the architectural painter Bibiena, he moved to Rome in 1711 and remained there until the end of his life. He was admitted to the Congregazione dei Virtuosi of the Pantheon in 1718, at the age of seventeen, and shortly afterwards entered the Accademia di San Luca, where he was elected principal in 1754. In his youth, his clientele was exclusively the Roman nobility, for whom he accurately described the various splendours of ancient and modern Rome. Admitted to the Académie de France in Rome in 1732, he received commissions from an increasingly international clientele. French, Spanish and English royalty and aristocrats bought his canvases, including Philip V of Spain, who commissioned a painting from the artist in 1735. Three years later, he painted a series of five pictures for Marble Hill House in Richmond, then worked for the French ambassadors to the Holy See, and finally for the King of Sardinia in 1752. Panini's vedute had a lasting influence on painters in the second half of the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Hubert Robert, who arrived in Rome in 1754, subsequently spread his style to the Eternal City and then to France. The atmospheric rendering of his paintings has been compared to the early works of Corot, to his outdoor views of Italy, where the tonal harmonies are enhanced by the warm southern light. This is also the case for our pair. [1] London sale, Sotheby's, 6 July 2016, no. 38, signed and dated 1751 (canvas, 57.8 x 94 cm), F. Arisi, Gian Paolo Panini e I fasti della Roma del'700, Rome, Ugo Bozzi editore, 1986, p. 442, no. 425. [2] This name dates from 1921. It refers to the Circus Maximus. [3] Arisi, op. cit., p. 346, no. 230. [4] At Sanssouci Castle in Potsdam, acquired by King Frederick III, Arisi, op. cit. p.428, no. 396 and at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Arisi, op. cit. p.420, nos. 376 and 37. Giovanni Paolo PANINI (Piacenza, 1691 - Rome, 1765) 74 x 98 cm This magnificent pair of unpublished canvases depicts two emblematic views of ancient Rome, one looking towards the Forum, the Capitol and the city, the other showing the famous ruins of the Colosseum and Constantine's triumphal arch. The first is taken from the Via Sacra, the main axis of the ancient city, in front of the Arch of Constantine, looking north as far as the Capitoline Hill. It shows, from left to right, the corner of the façade of Santa Maria Liberatrice (demolished in 1899), immediately beyond which is the Temple of Castor and Pollux, formed by three columns surmounted by a section of architrave; in the background are the ruins of the Temple of Saturn. In the centre of the perspective, through the Arch of Septimius Severus, steps lead up to the Capitoline Hill. The tower of the Palazzo Senatorio, the highest landmark on the horizon, stands out against the mass of buildings. To its right, in the distance, the Piazza del Campidoglio is hidden from view, but you can make out the transept of the Basilica of Santa Maria in Aracoeli. Below, the Arch of Septimius Severus protrudes from the trees, revealing the dome of the church of Santi Luca e Martina. The arches of the Basilica of Maxentius and Constantine stand on the far right of the canvas. This veduta, described in terms of its orientation towards the north, was known to Panini only through one other version in a private collection1, which included numerous variations in the angle of the shot, the choice of ancient buildings and the number and position of the figures. The counterpart shows the Colosseum from what is now Via Celio Vibenna2. From left to right, you can see the ruins of the Palatine, the Arch of Constantine and the Colosseum amphitheatre. It can be compared with the nearby view, signed and dated 1735, in the Detroit Institute of Art, which has similarities in the right-hand part of the composition, but includes numerous differences in the angle of the shot and in the figures3. Painted around 1750, our pair shows the artist at the peak of his talent, reinventing himself yet again in his career. Until then, Panini had painted many views of the Forum, but taken from the Clivus Capitolinus4 - the road leading up to the Capitol - looking south towards the Arch of Titus, sometimes combined with a view of the Colosseum. He was famous at the time for these imaginary reconstructions, his capricci, which were much sought after by collectors. In contrast, here he gives two landscapes with precise topography, a rarer genre in his work. He reinforces a sense of reality by animating the ancient site with contemporary figures going about their business: some are conversing, riding on a donkey, a washerwoman is carrying her washing, a shepherdess is looking after her flock, and some are barefoot. The painter's virtuosity lies in unifying the scene through a strong contrast between the deep shadow created by the façade on the left and in the foreground, or by the embankment on the second canvas, which reinforces the sense of spatial distance, and the rest of the scene bathed in sunlight. Panini combines ruined architectural elements with more modern ones in a picturesque setting. For the enthusiasts of the time, the visitors to the Grand Tour, these panoramic views fixed the memory of a leading cultural destination - Rome - and of the classical heritage, in a work that was both decorative and intellectual. The artist Panini was the most prominent painter of the veduta genre in Rome during the second third of the eighteenth century. Allegedly trained in his home town with the architectural painter Bibiena, he moved to Rome in 1711 and remained there until the end of his life. He was admitted to the Congregazione dei Virtuosi of the Pantheon in 1718, at the age of seventeen, and shortly afterwards entered the Accademia di San Luca, where he was elected principal in 1754. In his youth, his clientele was exclusively the Roman nobility, for whom he accurately described the various splendours of ancient and modern Rome. Admitted to the Académie de France in Rome in 1732, he received commissions from an increasingly international clientele. French, Spanish and English royalty and aristocrats bought his paintings, including Philip V of Spain, who commissioned a painting from the artist in 1735. Three years later, he painted a series of five pictures for Marble Hill House in Richmond, then worked for the French ambassadors to the Holy See, and finally for the King of Sardinia in 1752. Panini's vedute had a lasting influence on painters in the second half of the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Hubert Robert, who arrived in Rome in 1754, subsequently spread his style to the Eternal City and then to France. The atmospheric rendering of his paintings has been compared to the early works of Corot, to his outdoor views of Italy, where the tonal harmonies are enhanced by the warm southern light. This is also the case for our pair. [1] London sale, Sotheby's, 6 July 2016, no. 38, signed and dated 1751 (canvas, 57.8 x 94 cm), F. Arisi, Gian Paolo Panini e I fasti della Roma del'700, Rome, Ugo Bozzi editore, 1986, p. 442, no. 425. [2] This name dates from 1921. It refers to the Circus Maximus. [3] Arisi, op. cit., p. 346, no. 230. [4] At the Château de Sanssouci in Potsdam, acquired by King Frederick III, Arisi, op. cit. p.428, no. 396 and at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Arisi, op. cit. p.420, nos. 376 and 37.