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 greatest painters of ‘vedute’ (views) of the eighteenth century. In 1711 he moved to Rome, and by 1716–17 he was already a specialist view painter. Unlike both Canaletto and Bellotto, who also executed ‘vedute’ of the eternal city but equally of many other towns, Pannini confined himself to Rome. He was particularly captivated by the ruins of antiquity, which he often reconfigured in the form of capricci, but did also paint the modern city.
The present work 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 Saint Peter’s’, of which there is a version dated 1731 in the Saint Louis Art Museum). It portrays arguably the most remarkable of all the ancient survivals in Rome, namely the Pantheon, whose unparalleled state of preservation is the consequence of its having been converted into a Christian church early on. Pannini, whose signature and the date 1735 appear as if incised at the base of the leftmost of the towering foreground columns, has effortlessly conveyed both the extraordinary expanse of the interior and its breathtaking airiness. 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, which is open to the elements, and 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 the largesse of 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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F. Arisi, Panini pittore di vendute reali, in: Ausst.-Kat. Giovanni Paolo Panini 1691-1765, Palazzo Gotica, Piacenza 1993, S. 41-42
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Ausst.-Kat. Neoclassicism and Biedermeier. Liechtenstein Museum Vienna, 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. 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
Ausst.-Kat. I Tesori del Principe / Princely Treasures / Les Tresors du Prince. Capolavori delle Collezioni del Principe del Liechtenstein, Johann Kräftner, Gabriele Accornero (Hg.), Forte di Bard, Bard 9.12.2011–31.5.2012, erschienen Bard 2011, S. 148, Abb. 149
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
Johann Kräftner, Die Schätze der Liechtenstein. Paläste, Gemälde, Skulpturen, Wien 2013, Abb. S. 251
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Ausst.-Kat. Liechtenstein. Die Fürstlichen Sammlungen, Regula Berger, Matthias Frehner und Rainer Lawicki (Hg.), Kunstmuseum, Bern 12.11.2016–19.3.2017, erschienen München 2016, S. 269–270, 286, Kat.-Nr. 166
Christie's London, Auktion "From the property of a Gentleman" Juli 1999, S. 174, Kat. 79 (Vergleichsbeispiel)