Scuola romana (XVIII) - Capriccio romano con figure

The detailed architectural caprice proposed here belongs to the Roman eighteenth-century tradition that unites inventive imagination and archaeological suggestions. The Colosseum, invoked as a symbolic presence, becomes the ideal linchpin of a scenography of imaginary ruins: broken arches, eroded masonry, and stone fragments are arranged with balance, creating an articulated dialogue between fullness and voids that guides the narration through exquisite architectural and ornamental details.
The plaque at the bottom right, dated 1656, becomes an encomium to ruinism and draws the observer's gaze toward reading the worn inscription.

The atmospheric palette, based on warm ochre and earth tones, is harmonized by clear and luminous blues, capable of infusing the scene with a lyrical and contemplative timbre. The figures in the foreground and those inside the building, rendered with natural ease and precise miniaturization, introduce an elegant everyday trace that counterpoints the solemnity of the ancient vestiges. Contemporary clothing accentuates the temporal gap between the present and the past.

The loose brushstroke effectively conveys both the tactile materiality of the wall surfaces and the softness of the sky, while a diffused light models the forms, hypnotically. From this derives a poetic vision of Rome as a place of humanistic memory.

The painting, which deserves in-depth study, comes from an important Piedmontese residence.

It was restored and replastered in the last century.

As a complimentary addition to the work, a newer and more patinated frame is included.

Dimensions: 103 cm x 76 cm.