The Interior of the Pantheon in Rome
Giovanni Paolo Pannini (1691–1765)
1735
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Giovanni Paolo Pannini, who came from Piacenza in northern Italy, was one of the eighteenth century’s greatest ‘veduta’ painters. In 1711 he moved to Rome, and by 1716/17 he was already a specialist painter of such views. In his ‘vedute’, however, he differed from Canaletto and Bellotto in that he confined himself to Rome. While he was particularly captivated by the ancient ruins, which he often reconfigured in the form of ‘capricci’, he also painted views of the modern city.
The present ‘veduta’ is a fine example of one of his specialities, namely the depiction of ancient and modern interiors, above all of churches (a memorable precursor is his much-repeated ‘Interior of St Peter’s’, of which there is a version dated 1731 in the Saint Louis Art Museum). It portrays what is arguably the most remarkable of all the ancient survivals in Rome, the Pantheon, whose unparalleled state of preservation is the consequence of its having been converted into a Christian church at an early date. Pannini has effortlessly conveyed both the extraordinary expanse of the interior and its breathtaking airiness; his signature and the date 1735 appear as if incised at the base of the leftmost towering foreground column. The view itself is taken from the altar end, looking back towards the great entrance portal and on to the piazza beyond. The composition is topped by the building’s crowning oculus, open to the elements, which casts a great circle of light onto the wall by the door. The grandeur of the architecture dwarfs the milling knots of people: many of them are kneeling worshippers, including a Swiss Guard with his pike, but there is also a wonderful vignette of a hobbling beggar with hat outstretched receiving largesse from a lordly grandee.
- Material/technique
- oil on canvas
- Measurements
- 127 × 99 cm
- Acquisition
- acquired in 2001 by Prince Hans-Adam II von und zu Liechtenstein
- Artists/makers/authors
- Giovanni Paolo Pannini
- Inventory number
- GE 166
- Signature/inscriptions content only available in German
- sign. und dat. auf dem Sockel der linken Säule: JO.PAULUS PANINI MDCCXXXV
- Provenance
- before 1791 George Gordon, Lord Haddo (d. 1791); before 1969 Major David Gordon, Earl of Haddo, Haddo House, Aberdeenshire; 29 March 1969 Sotheby's, London, lot 84; acquired in 2001 by Prince Hans-Adam II von und zu Liechtenstein from the Galerie Sanct Lucas, Vienna
- Place of origin
- Rome
- Place depicted
- Pantheon
- Iconography
- Interior
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Ausst.-Kat. Klassizismus und Biedermeier. Liechtenstein Museum Wien, Stefan Körner, Johann Kräftner (Hg.), Liechtenstein Museum, Wien 29.3.2004–7.11.2004, erschienen München–Berlin–London–New York 2004, S. 68, Abb. 59-60 u. Umschlagabb. Rückseite, Kat. I.13
Ausst.-Kat. Der Fürst als Sammler. Neuerwerbungen unter Hans-Adam II. von und zu Liechtenstein, Johann Kräftner (Hg.), Liechtenstein Museum, Wien 12.2.2010–24.8.2010, erschienen Wien 2010, S. 60–61, Kat.-Nr. 19, Abb. S. 208
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Ausst.-Kat. Splendeurs des Collections du Prince de Liechtenstein / Splendours of the Collections of the Prince of Liechtenstein, Alexandra Hanzl, Kathrine Klopf-Weiss, Johann Kräftner, Brigitte Lackner, Michael Schweller, Arthur Stögmann, Johann Kräftner, Caroline Messensee (Hg.), Palais Lumière, Evian 4.6.2011–2.10.2011, erschienen Montreuil 2011, Abb. 119
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Christie's London, Auktion "From the property of a Gentleman" Juli 1999, S. 174, Kat. 79 (Vergleichsbeispiel)
