A Capriccio of the Roman Forum, 1741
Oil on canvas, 67 1/4 x 85 3/4 in. (170.8 x 217.8 cm)
Stephen Carlton Clark, B.A. 1903, Fund
1964.41
Capriccii, or fantasy scenes, were a popular form of landscape painting in the eighteenth century. Frequently they incorporated recognizable buildings or archeological monuments rearranged in juxtapositions not meant to be topographically accurate. This masterpiece by Giovanni Paolo Panini is based on a view of the Forum Romanum seen from the west, including the ruins of the Arch of Titus and the Temples of Castor and Pollux, Saturn, and the Divine Vespasian. Interspersed with these landmarks are fragments of classical sculpture from various Roman collections and figures emblematic of the transitory nature of human endeavor.
 |
 |
 |