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View of the Colosseum

Giovanni Paolo Panini (Italian, ca. 1692-1765) (Painter)
1747 (Baroque)
oil on canvas
(Baroque Europe )

This view of the Colosseum and the Arch of Constantine is a somewhat fanciful reconstruction showing each monument from its best side. Fallen walls of the Colosseum have been tidied up, and several other works of antiquity have been introduced into the landscapes, such as the famous Borghese vase (now in the Louvre Museum, Paris) at the left.

Roman ruins had become popular subjects by the 1700s, in part due to the new interest in archaeology. Panini was a master of these souvenir paintings so favored by wealthy English visitors on their Grand Tour of Europe; this painting and its companion, View of the Roman Forum, were originally in a private British collection.

For more information on this painting, please see Federico Zeri's 1976 catalogue no. 411, pp. 522-523.

Inscription

[Transcription] Inscribed on the block of marble at the lower left corner: I.P.PANINI ROMAE/1747.

Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object. Learn more about provenance at the Walters.

Tyrwhitt-Drake, Shardeloes, Amersham, Buckinghamshire [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Agnew, London [date and mode of acquistion unknown]; David Koetser, London and New York [date and mode of acquistion unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 1954, by purchase.

Exhibitions

1993 A Renaissance Puzzle: Heemskerck's Abduction of Helen. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore.
1963 The City: Images of Rome. Smith College Museum of Art, Northampton.
1960-1961 The Ruins of Rome. The Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit; University of Pennsylvania Museum, Philadelphia.

Conservation

Date Description Narrative
12/19/1977 Examination examined for condition
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Geographies

Italy, Rome (Place of Origin)

Measurements

Painted surface H: 32 5/16 x W: 52 7/16 in. (82 x 133.2 cm); Stretcher H: 32 5/16 x W: 53 1/16 in. (82 x 134.8 cm)

Credit Line

Museum purchase, 1954

Location in Museum

Charles Street: Third Floor: 18th-Century Art

Accession Number

In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.

37.2367

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Related Objects

Image for View of the Roman Forum

View of the Roman Forum

Giovanni Paolo Panini (Italian, ca. 1692-1765)
1747 (Baroque)
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Hours

  • Wednesday—Sunday: 10 a.m.—5 p.m.
  • Thursday: 1–8 p.m.
  • Monday—Tuesday: Closed

Location

600 N. Charles St.
Baltimore, MD
21201

Phone

410-547-9000

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