Giovanni Paolo Panini (Piacenza 1691/2 - 1765 Rome) et atelier

Piacenza, Collection particulière;
Vente anonyme, Sotheby's New York, 21 avril 1971, lot 20;
Vente anonyme, Sotheby's Londres, 11 avril 1990, lot 58.

F. Arisi, Gian Paolo Panini, e i fasti della Roma del' 700, Rome 1986, p. 381, no. 300, reproduced.

The painting is in a good overall condition, under an uniform yellow varnish. It has been correctly relined around twenty years ago. With the UV light : We notice retouching along the sides, certainly due to the frame rubbing. There are a few repaints in the sky, that fills in the cracks. We can also see light retouching on the columns of the left hand side, and on the architrave. Some minor retouching is visible at the top of the obelisk, on the rock in the lower right hand side, and the left arm of the soldier in the center of the composition has been repainted.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Selon Ferdinando Arisi, notre tableau est une réplique autographe d'une oeuvre célèbre de Giovanni Paolo Panini, signée et datée 1741, documentée dans les collections du duc de Sutherland, et présentée ensuite à la galerie Heim, Londres, en 1983. Ce tableau avait pour pendant un autre caprice architectural, signé et daté la même année, illustrant le Colisée, l'Arc de Constantin et la Colonne trajane.¹ Dans son ouvrage sur le maître, Arisi mentionne également un pendant de même sujet pour notre composition, autrefois dans une collection particulière à Piacenza.²

Un dessin préparatoire de Panini avec les trois jeunes femmes près du puits à droite est conservé au Kupferstichkabinett de Berlin (no. inv. 17539).

1. Les deux compositions furent exposées ensemble à l'occasion de l'exposition Portraits and Figures in Paintings and Sculptures, 1570-1870, à la galerie Heim, Londres, en 1983, sous les nos. 12 et 13.
2. F. Arisi, op. cit., p. 381, no. 299, reproduit.


According to Ferdinando Arisi, our painting is an autograph replica of a famous work by Giovanni Paolo Panini, signed and dated 1741, that was documented in the collections belonging to the Duke of Sutherland, and then presented in the Galerie Heim, London, in 1983. This painting had for pendant another architectural capriccio, signed and dated the same year, showing the Coliseum, Constantine's Arch and the Trajan Column. In his book on the master, Arisi also mentions a pendant on the same subject for our composition, that used to part of a private collection in Piacenza.

A preparatory drawing by Panini with the three young ladies by the well on the right is kept in the Kupferstichkabinett of Berlin (no. inv. 17539).