19th Century French School, After Giovanni Paolo Panini (1691-1765)

French school of the 19th century
Ancient ruins with the pyramid of Caius Cestius, after Giovanni Paolo Panini
Oil on canvas Lined – without frame
65 x 50 cm

The capriccio or architectural whim, combines vestiges of ancient Rome and imaginary constructions decorated with characters, alone where in groups, soldiers or characters dressed in ancient fashion. This genre forms the bulk of the abundant production of Panini, active in Rome from 1715.

Giovanni Paolo Panini (1691-1765) began his Roman career by painting real views of the eternal city, its festivals and interiors - sometimes idealized - large collections before developing a type of imaginary landscape highlighting the vestiges of the ancient glory of Rome. The artist's training largely explains his work; it was in fact as an architect that he was admitted to the Académie de Saint-Luc in 1719.
From the 1730s, Panini populated his paintings with ancient monuments without worrying about their real location in the city and its surroundings. All that matters is the aesthetics of the composition and the richness of the various decorative elements which are repeated and presented in different ways within his works.

Our painting condenses many elements that we can still admire today in Rome; like the Borghese vase acquired in 1566 by the Borghese family, the Pyramid of Caius Cestius or even a bas-relief very probably representing Pan and Syrinx.
In this composition, the monuments are garnished with vegetation: it is nature which reclaims its rights over man's creation (rovine ideate). This gives a less cold and more decorative side to the vedute. Decoration being one of the objectives of the pictorial genre.