NARRATOR:
The cardinal in red is just to the right of center, with a group of people around him. The guard in stripes is way over at the left, in front of a doorway… And I bet you found the dog—down front with the group of elegant ladies and gentlemen. Can you imagine taking your pet to church?!
Interior of Saint Peter's, Rome
1735
Giovanni Paolo Panini (Italian, 1691-1765)
On View
Panini painted close to 20 versions of the interior of St. Peter’s Basilica, the seat of Catholicism in Rome. St. Peter’s was a major site of religious pilgrimage and tourism in the 18th century, as it is today. This painting depicts the church as it looked prior to changes that occurred after 1743. It is based on a work, now in the Louvre, that was commissioned by Cardinal Melchior de Polignac, French ambassador to the Vatican. Although he is not depicted in this version, Polignac can often be spotted in these paintings in red robes and surrounded by a small coterie. In this painting, the bold description of the vast interior architecture and the finely detailed rendering of the decor testify to Panini’s early training in designing theater sets.
Details
- Artist Name: Giovanni Paolo Panini (Italian, 1691-1765)
- Title: Interior of Saint Peter's, Rome
- Date: 1735
- Medium: Oil on canvas
- Dimensions: 60-1/4 x 86-1/2 in. (153 x 219.7 cm)
- Credit Line: The Norton Simon Foundation
- Accession Number: F.1974.3.P
- Copyright: © The Norton Simon Foundation
Object Information
Second Lord Galway, Rome, c. 1740, by descent to;
The Rt. Hon. Dowager Viscountess Galway, Serlby Hall, Nottinghamshire.
[Artemis (E.V Thaw & Co., Inc.)];
Norton Simon Foundation.
The Rt. Hon. Dowager Viscountess Galway, Serlby Hall, Nottinghamshire.
[Artemis (E.V Thaw & Co., Inc.)];
Norton Simon Foundation.
Reinstallation of Galleries: Art History of the 17th and 18th Century Gains Fresh Dimension
- Norton Simon Museum, 1993-09-02 to 1995-08-13
- Waagen, G., Galleries and Cabinets of Art in Great Britain, p. 518
- Levey, Michael, The Burlington Magazine, pp. 53, 54
- Musgrave, Ernest I., Serlby Hall: An Illustrated Survey of the Nottinghamshire Residence of the Viscounts Galway, pl. 30
- McCorquodale, Charles, The Connoisseur, pp. 211, 215
- Arisi, Ferdinando, Gian Paolo Panini, 1961, no. 6 p. 140
- Levey, Michael, The Seventeenth and Eighteenth Century Italian Schools, 1971, pp. 174-175
- Musgrave, Ernest I., Serlby Hall: An Illustrated Survey of the Nottinghamshire Residence of the Viscounts Galway, 1975, pl. 12
- Masterpieces from the Norton Simon Museum, 1989, pp. 96-97
- Campbell, Sara, Collector Without Walls: Norton Simon and His Hunt for the Best, 2010, cat. 1009 p. 362
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