(Antwerp 1628–1684)
An imaginary Roman Campagna landscape with the Tomb of the Plautii in the left foreground and the Milvian Bridge in the background,
signed and inscribed lower left: ..., Antiche e moderne Veduti di Roma JB Wans,
oil on canvas, 126 x 171 cm, framed

The present painting is the most ambitious work by Jan Baptist Wans that has appeared on the art market to date. The inscription formulates the artist’s intention of depicting both antique and modern buildings in Rome. Although the column in the left middle ground might be identified as Trajan’s Column, the composition is aimed at a decorative arrangement rather than a topographically accurate description of the Roman Campagna. The circular structure represents the Tomb of the Plautii, located near the Ponte Lucano across the Anio River, which was depicted by many Dutch painters, from Dujardin to Moucheron. In front of the bridge appears the Osteria di Ponte Lucano. The column is to be understood as a decorative compositional element. The bridge in the background can be identified as the Milvian Bridge. Principally pursuing the idea of a landscape and architectural capriccio, Wans decoratively combined these monuments while integrating them into an impressive landscape. Whereas the background scenery resembles the Alban Hills, the waterfalls in the right foreground seem a free interpretation of the Tivoli falls. What makes such capriccios so charming is the combination of fantastic views and real architecture within a carefully composed heroic landscape scenery. There is no proof that Wans ever sojourned in Italy. Having been apprenticed to Frans van Oosten, he was admitted to the Antwerp Guild of Saint Luke in 1657. On the occasion of his admission, he presented to the guild a large landscape that has not yet been identified, but which may well have been the present composition. Wans was an extremely versatile artist whose early works reveal his dependence on Brueghel II, such as his Saint Francis in a Landscape, sold at Christie’s in London in 2005. Later on, in addition to landscapes, he painted elegant allegories of the seasons together with Gaspar Peeter Verbruggen (cf. the composition of Spring, sold at auction in Portugal in 2013). The present work, with its ambitious composition, is an interesting addition to the artist’s oeuvre.