Lot No. 111


Roman or Venetian School (?), first half of the 18th Century

[Saleroom Notice]
Roman or Venetian School (?), first half of the 18th Century - Old Master Paintings

A procession of carriages leaving Piazza del Popolo, Rome,
oil on canvas, 146 x 234 cm, framed

Provenance:
Private European collection

The present painting depicts the Piazza del Popolo in Rome, with a procession of carriages in the foreground proceeding towards Porta del Popolo. From antiquity onwards, this city gate was the principal entrance from the north to the city. It was used by both pilgrims and travellers and it was also the setting for the solemn entrances of ambassadors and sovereigns. Among these, one of the most celebrated of the seventeenth century was that of the triumphal entrance of Queen Cristina of Sweden in 1655.

In the present painting, the Porta del Popolo is seen laterally, and alongside it to the left are the church and convent of Santa Maria del Popolo, with its walled enclosure which was later demolished in the nineteenth century to make way for the reorganisation of the piazza designed by Giuseppe Valadier. On the right are the ‘twin’ churches of Santa Maria in Montesanto and Santa Maria dei Miracoli, completed in 1681. The completion date of the latter provides a valuable reference for the dating of the painting. Spanning out from the two churches is the so-called ‘trident’ of roads: the procession of carriages emerges from the central one, the via del Corso. At the centre of the piazza stands the Egyptian obelisk raised by Sixtus V, while above, on the Pincian Hill the Villa Medici is depicted in the distance.

The procession in the foreground consists of numerous carriages: in the first a prelate wearing a red cap can be seen with a nobleman sitting beside him, while two more noblemen occupy the second carriage. The many attendant people, from every level of society, which surround and animate the processional scene, reflect the varied Roman society that Giovanni Paolo Panini in particular depicted.

Rendered with great vivacity and pictorial effect, noblemen and ecclesiastics can be seen paying homage to the procession or conversing amongst themselves, while commoners are engaged in other activities or distracted by the events taking place in the piazza before them. Such as the youth reclining against a boulder in the near foreground alongside the remains of an ancient column. He recalls the figure type adopted by Panini in his paintings often celebrating specific events such as The French Ambassador to the Holy See, the Duc de Choiseul departing Saint Peter’s in the Gemäldegalerie, Berlin (see F. Arisi, Gian Paolo Panini e i fasti della Roma del ‘700, Rome 1986, p. 450-451, no. 445). Panini depicted the Piazza del Popolo on several occasions, depicting it from a different angle to the present painting (see F. Arisi, Ibid., pp. 300-301, nn. 152-153). Indeed, the latter, in representing the piazza from the south side to emphasise the breadth of the piazza’s open space, presents itself as an original solution, which finds few points of comparison among paintings or engraved sources of the era. A point of comparison might, however, be found in a similar painting attributed to Antonio Joli, Panini’s pupil in Rome, which is conserved in the Palazzo Mocenigo in Venice and represents The entrance of Ambassador Alvise Mocenigo into Piazza del Popolo on 17 February 1748 (see R. Toledano, Antonio Joli. Modena 1700-1777 Napoli, Turni 2006, p. 181, R.XI, fig. 1).

During the 1660s Lieven Cruyl made an engraving with the same panoramic composition as the present painting: this might have provided a point of reference for views taken from this unusual angle (see G. Ciucci, La Piazza del Popolo. Storia architettura urbanistica, Rome 1974, p. 76). Indeed, Niccolò Codazzi might also have taken inspiration from this engraving for his depiction of the Entry into Piazza del Popolo of Prince Radzwill, ambassador to the king of Poland, on 4 August 1680, which is conserved at the Wilanow Palace, Warsaw (see D. Marshall, Viviano and Niccolò Codazzi and the Baroque Architectural Fantasy, Rome 1993, p. 383, no. NC 42).

The scene represented in the present painting belongs to an established canon among noble families of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, for commissioning celebrative views usually of grand entrances, usually of ambassadors or sovereigns, to Piazza del Popolo or the Quirinal – events wherein ceremonial pomp played a determining role. In the case of entrances, Piazza del Popolo became ‘l’anticamera di Roma’, ‘the anti-chamber to Rome’ (see M. Fagiolo dell’Arco, La festa barocca, Rome 1997, p. 52) where foreigners who crossed into the Eternal City in solemn cavalcade were received and celebrated. During this tradition, they presented themselves to the people in two distinct moments: in this instance, they made themselves known to the city populace and subsequently they were conducted to the pope, usually along a route through the city streets and squares sumptuously appointed with ephemeral decorations.

The subject of the present painting is however more unusal as in this painting, the artist has immortalised a moment of celebrative significance: the departure from the Eternal City of an individual who must have held a most important political position.

Saleroom Notice:

Ralph Toledano suggest an attribution to Jacopo Fabris (1689–1761) for the present painting, on the basis of a high resolution digital photograph. 

23.10.2018 - 18:00

Realized price: **
EUR 161,600.-
Estimate:
EUR 50,000.- to EUR 70,000.-

Roman or Venetian School (?), first half of the 18th Century

[Saleroom Notice]

A procession of carriages leaving Piazza del Popolo, Rome,
oil on canvas, 146 x 234 cm, framed

Provenance:
Private European collection

The present painting depicts the Piazza del Popolo in Rome, with a procession of carriages in the foreground proceeding towards Porta del Popolo. From antiquity onwards, this city gate was the principal entrance from the north to the city. It was used by both pilgrims and travellers and it was also the setting for the solemn entrances of ambassadors and sovereigns. Among these, one of the most celebrated of the seventeenth century was that of the triumphal entrance of Queen Cristina of Sweden in 1655.

In the present painting, the Porta del Popolo is seen laterally, and alongside it to the left are the church and convent of Santa Maria del Popolo, with its walled enclosure which was later demolished in the nineteenth century to make way for the reorganisation of the piazza designed by Giuseppe Valadier. On the right are the ‘twin’ churches of Santa Maria in Montesanto and Santa Maria dei Miracoli, completed in 1681. The completion date of the latter provides a valuable reference for the dating of the painting. Spanning out from the two churches is the so-called ‘trident’ of roads: the procession of carriages emerges from the central one, the via del Corso. At the centre of the piazza stands the Egyptian obelisk raised by Sixtus V, while above, on the Pincian Hill the Villa Medici is depicted in the distance.

The procession in the foreground consists of numerous carriages: in the first a prelate wearing a red cap can be seen with a nobleman sitting beside him, while two more noblemen occupy the second carriage. The many attendant people, from every level of society, which surround and animate the processional scene, reflect the varied Roman society that Giovanni Paolo Panini in particular depicted.

Rendered with great vivacity and pictorial effect, noblemen and ecclesiastics can be seen paying homage to the procession or conversing amongst themselves, while commoners are engaged in other activities or distracted by the events taking place in the piazza before them. Such as the youth reclining against a boulder in the near foreground alongside the remains of an ancient column. He recalls the figure type adopted by Panini in his paintings often celebrating specific events such as The French Ambassador to the Holy See, the Duc de Choiseul departing Saint Peter’s in the Gemäldegalerie, Berlin (see F. Arisi, Gian Paolo Panini e i fasti della Roma del ‘700, Rome 1986, p. 450-451, no. 445). Panini depicted the Piazza del Popolo on several occasions, depicting it from a different angle to the present painting (see F. Arisi, Ibid., pp. 300-301, nn. 152-153). Indeed, the latter, in representing the piazza from the south side to emphasise the breadth of the piazza’s open space, presents itself as an original solution, which finds few points of comparison among paintings or engraved sources of the era. A point of comparison might, however, be found in a similar painting attributed to Antonio Joli, Panini’s pupil in Rome, which is conserved in the Palazzo Mocenigo in Venice and represents The entrance of Ambassador Alvise Mocenigo into Piazza del Popolo on 17 February 1748 (see R. Toledano, Antonio Joli. Modena 1700-1777 Napoli, Turni 2006, p. 181, R.XI, fig. 1).

During the 1660s Lieven Cruyl made an engraving with the same panoramic composition as the present painting: this might have provided a point of reference for views taken from this unusual angle (see G. Ciucci, La Piazza del Popolo. Storia architettura urbanistica, Rome 1974, p. 76). Indeed, Niccolò Codazzi might also have taken inspiration from this engraving for his depiction of the Entry into Piazza del Popolo of Prince Radzwill, ambassador to the king of Poland, on 4 August 1680, which is conserved at the Wilanow Palace, Warsaw (see D. Marshall, Viviano and Niccolò Codazzi and the Baroque Architectural Fantasy, Rome 1993, p. 383, no. NC 42).

The scene represented in the present painting belongs to an established canon among noble families of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, for commissioning celebrative views usually of grand entrances, usually of ambassadors or sovereigns, to Piazza del Popolo or the Quirinal – events wherein ceremonial pomp played a determining role. In the case of entrances, Piazza del Popolo became ‘l’anticamera di Roma’, ‘the anti-chamber to Rome’ (see M. Fagiolo dell’Arco, La festa barocca, Rome 1997, p. 52) where foreigners who crossed into the Eternal City in solemn cavalcade were received and celebrated. During this tradition, they presented themselves to the people in two distinct moments: in this instance, they made themselves known to the city populace and subsequently they were conducted to the pope, usually along a route through the city streets and squares sumptuously appointed with ephemeral decorations.

The subject of the present painting is however more unusal as in this painting, the artist has immortalised a moment of celebrative significance: the departure from the Eternal City of an individual who must have held a most important political position.

Saleroom Notice:

Ralph Toledano suggest an attribution to Jacopo Fabris (1689–1761) for the present painting, on the basis of a high resolution digital photograph. 


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Auction: Old Master Paintings
Auction type: Saleroom auction
Date: 23.10.2018 - 18:00
Location: Vienna | Palais Dorotheum
Exhibition: 13.10. - 23.10.2018


** Purchase price incl. charges and taxes

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