Attributed to Giovanni Giacomo Van Lint (Rome 1723 - 1790)
View of Rome with flooded Piazza Navona
Oil on canvas (cm. 50 x 62 - framed 61 x 74 cm)
The work belongs to a series of three paintings, together with the views of the Trevi Fountain (link) and San Giovanni in Laterano (link)
Complete details of the work (click HERE)
The splendid view of Rome proposed here, of excellent quality, depicting the famous flooded Piazza Navona, is to be attributed to the Roman landscape painter Giovanni Giacomo Van Lint (Rome 1723 - 1790).
This is a very interesting historical document, which immortalizes one of the summer traditions, now in disuse, that have written the history of the Eternal City, and precisely the so-called "lake" of Piazza Navona; since 1652, by will of Pope Innocent X, every Saturday and Sunday in August, the square, thanks to its concave bottom, was flooded creating a large pool to cool nobles and commoners during the summer heat.
The view is distinguished by its luminous chromatic tone, with the clarity of the sun tending to fade, infusing a delicate sense of chromatic quiet, a stylistic aspect typical of the mature phase of our painter, who achieved a solid reputation as a landscape painter, accurately depicting the city of Rome topographically.
The painting, in particular, is a derivative of an engraving by the famous Giuseppe Vasi (Corleone 1710 – Rome 1782), taken from the monumental collection entitled ‘‘Delle magnificenze di Roma antica e moderna’’, with the most beautiful shots of the Eternal City, which assured him great fame, thanks above all to the always original and perspectively captivating cut of the compositions and the never predictable choice of subjects.
Giuseppe Vasi, who reveals the fullness of his graphic creativity in this monumental work, became an important point of reference for the landscape painters active in Rome: it was in fact customary for the artists of the time to refer to his prints - as happened in Venice with the engravings of Visentini - to create the precise iconography of the places.
Views like ours, in particular, were created by Giovanni Giacomo Van Lint to satisfy collectors and refined travelers, especially English, German and French, who visited the city during their "Voyage d'Italie", eager to possess a ‘souvenir’ image of Rome in its most relaxed and characteristic dimension.
For this reason, he became a much admired painter and had great success among foreigners visiting Rome, who snapped up small-sized, easily transportable views and landscapes, so much so that almost all of his paintings are now in European private collections, particularly in the English collections.
Reference bibliography: A. Busiri Vici, ‘Peter, Hendrik and Giacomo Van Lint. Three painters from Antwerp of the '600s and '700s work in Rome', Bozzi editore, Rome 1987.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
The work is sold complete with a pleasant gilded frame and is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity and a descriptive iconographic sheet.
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