Giovanni Paolo Panini (Piacenza 1691-1765 Rome)

Painted on an intimate scale, this capriccio, signed and dated, is particularly refined. With its vivid brushwork and spontaneous feel, it stands out in the late work of Panini. Arisi does not hesitate in defining it one of the artist’s best compositions, ‘si tratta di una delle composizioni piu’ felici, piu’ liete dell’artista’ (Arisi, op. cit., 1961).
It is rare to find a painting by Panini that includes such an extensive landscape. The idyllic view, into which the figures are well integrated, is flanked by an imaginative Corinthian temple inspired by that of Vespasian. As Busiri Vici points out, the picture still shows strong links with Andrea Locatelli (1695-1741), and he believes the picture to be an unicum in the oeuvre of Panini from every point of view (Busiri Vici, op. cit., 1976).

We are grateful to David Marshall for confirming the attribution on the basis of photographs.