Scuola romana (seconda metà del XVII) - Veduta del Palatino

Second half of the eighteenth century
View of the Palatine
Oil on canvas, 50 x 58 cm
With frame, 60 x 68 cm

An oil painting on canvas, made in the second half of the 18th century, a view of the Palatine Hill in Rome, with in the center the imposing ruins of the Domus Severiana. The massive brick buttresses that once supported the expansion ordered by Septimius Severus at the end of the 2nd century AD are clearly recognizable, conceived to extend the imperial residence beyond the natural limits of the hill, keeping it at the same level as the rest of the palace. The building, which despite its name was not a true domus but a southeast extension of the Domus Augustana, appears here immersed in lush vegetation, with trees and shrubs that have insinuated themselves among the arches and brick walls now stripped of their original lining. In the background one can glimpse traces of the ancient imperial baths, perhaps commissioned by Domitian and restored in the reign of Maxentius, once fed by a branch of the Aqua Claudia. In the foreground, the artist has animated the scene with figures of wayfarers, horses, and dogs, in keeping with a common feature of eighteenth-century landscape painting, where ancient ruins serve as a monumental backdrop to scenes of daily life.

The work is part of that artistic production linked to the Grand Tour phenomenon, the formative journey that between the Seventeenth and Eighteenth centuries led young European aristocrats and intellectuals, particularly from France and the United Kingdom, through the main Italian art cities. Rome, with its ancient vestiges, represented an indispensable stop on this journey, and travelers would usually return home with paintings depicting the places they had visited, true artistic souvenirs that testified to the experience lived and at the same time fed the taste for antiquity. Numerous French and English painters lived permanently in the capital in those years, concentrating much of their activity precisely on producing views destined for this international market, often small in size and easy to transport. The same view of the Domus Severiana, moreover, also appears in watercolors by artists active in Rome at that time, such as Abraham Louis Ducros and William Pars, testifying to how this corner of the Palatine had become an iconic and recurring subject in the Grand Tour travelers' imagination.

The frame is provided as a complimentary gift, therefore it cannot be a reason for return or complaint.

For paintings purchased abroad: after payment, the procedure to obtain an export license (ALC) will begin. All antique items sent abroad from Italy require this document, issued by the Ministry of Cultural Heritage. The procedure could take 3 to 5 weeks from the request, so as soon as we have the document the painting will be shipped.