This late 17th-century Italian oil painting depicts a view with distinctive Italianate architecture including a building with an iconic portico and pediment.

Popular in mid-17th-century Rome, architectural ensembles of this nature are referred to as ‘capriccios’ and generally works of imaginative fiction. Artists were at liberty to interpret a view as they wished, rearranging, resizing, and even redesigning entire buildings. The results were fantastical, thought-provoking, and intended for a sophisticated buyer.

Many architectural capriccios feature a clear structure, which emphasises linear perspective and robust vertical planes. Here, the composition feels balanced despite the ‘weight’ being unequally distributed towards the left. This is achieved through the inclusion of the sinuous tree and distant mountain. 

One particularly successful practitioner of this technique was Alessandro Salucci (1590-1655/60), the Florentine painter who worked predominantly in Rome. He adopted a light palette, in a similar way to our piece, to reduce over-dramatisation and convey a sense of classical refinement. It’s conceivable that the artist was influenced by Salucci’s oeuvre.

Today, as we consider these distinguished old relics of 17th-century Rome, they convey a sense of much-needed gravitas and enduring dependability.

Held in an early 19th-century frame.

Medium: Oil on canvas
Overall size: 34½” x 25” / 88cm x 64cm
Year of creation: c. 1680
Labels & Inscriptions: Inscribed ‘(a)ntinori’ and ‘corsini’ on the reverse.
Provenance: Giovanni Pratesi, Florence / Private collection, Italy.
Condition: Cleaned. Revarnished. Canvas relined. Areas of fine and settled craquelure, as you would expect. Later stretcher. The paint layer is stable. Frame with various marks and showing its age.
Our reference: BRV2022