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Lot Essay
Antonio Joli, celebrated for his theatrical scenery and vedute, travelled to Rome as a young man, where the city’s ancient and modern monuments left a lasting impression on his work. In this painting, he depicts the familiar landmarks of the Colosseum and the Arch of Constantine, enlivening the Forum with figures, horsemen and a carriage. The composition has a distinctly theatrical character, arranged almost like a stage set: fragments of architecture and figures frame the foreground, riders and architectural elements animate the middle distance and the imposing ruins of ancient Rome dominate the scene.
Joli painted this site with a broader, panoramic perspective encompassing the full circular sweep of the Colosseum and the Arch of Constantine in its entirety. The view gained popularity in the eighteenth century, and at least three variants by Joli are known (Toledano, op. cit., nos. R.V.1-3). The present work, however, adopts a squarer format and an unusual crop that includes only a partial view of the Colosseum. This composition survives in just one other known version by Joli, of smaller dimensions (private collection; op. cit., no. R.IV.2). It follows an earlier, smaller painting by Gaspar van Wittel, called Vanvitelli (1653-1736), datable to the beginning of the eighteenth century (G. Briganti, Gaspar van Wittel, L. Laureati and L. Trezzani eds., Milan, 1996, p. 154, no. 61). Painted on a larger scale, the present view was probably conceived as an overmantel, as suggested by its format, as was a second composition with which it was sold in 1965 depicting Rome, the Tiber looking towards the Castel Sant'Angelo and Saint Peter's Basilica, a view known in multiple versions, including the following lot.
The view is taken from the gardens of Santa Francesca Romana, on the site where the imposing ruins of Hadrian’s Temple of Venus and Roma once stood. Today, the viewpoint corresponds roughly to the end of Via dei Fori Imperiali. Between the Colosseum and the Arch of Constantine can be seen the Vigna Paganica and the ruins of the Curia Ostilia, together with the gardens of the Noviziato dei Missionari. On the hill beyond rises the campanile of the church of Santi Giovanni e Paolo. The conical structure in the middle distance, before the Arch of Constantine, is the Meta Sudans, a distinctive cone-shaped fountain commissioned by the emperor Titus, rebuilt under Domitian and demolished in 1936. In the right foreground, an artist sits sketching the Colosseum while seated on blocks of stone, while another, dressed in a red coat and hat, stands nearby with his sketchbook tucked under his arm. A third artist, wearing a yellow coat, is seated on a ledge at centre left, framed by one of the arches of the Colosseum and accompanied by two figures. A pentiment, visible to the naked eye, reveals that the pointing figure in the red coat was originally positioned further to the left.
For stylistic reasons, this view can be dated to Joli’s years in England, between 1744 and 1749. It is not known whether it was commissioned by a member of the Lascelles family, or whether it was intended for a specific site. Tancred Borenius, who first published the work in his catalogue of the Harewood collection, recorded its location as Goldsborough Hall; however, that house was only acquired by the family in the mid- to late 1750s, after Joli had left England. Another painting by Joli, Venice, a view of the Bacino di San Marco, is inscribed ‘M Lascelle / [L]ond’, indicating that the artist was patronised by the Lascelles family (by descent until sold in these Rooms, 8 December 2004, lot 90). The ‘Lascelle’ in the inscription may refer to Daniel Lascelles (1714-1784) of Goldsborough Hall, Yorkshire, M.P. for Northallerton, who may have commissioned that picture – and the present work – for his London residence. The Jacobean Goldsborough Hall underwent significant refurbishment in the 1760s and remained continuously inhabited by the Lascelles family until the 1930s, after which Harewood House became their principal seat. If Daniel Lascelles was indeed the patron who commissioned this work, its provenance has remained unbroken to the present day.
Joli painted this site with a broader, panoramic perspective encompassing the full circular sweep of the Colosseum and the Arch of Constantine in its entirety. The view gained popularity in the eighteenth century, and at least three variants by Joli are known (Toledano, op. cit., nos. R.V.1-3). The present work, however, adopts a squarer format and an unusual crop that includes only a partial view of the Colosseum. This composition survives in just one other known version by Joli, of smaller dimensions (private collection; op. cit., no. R.IV.2). It follows an earlier, smaller painting by Gaspar van Wittel, called Vanvitelli (1653-1736), datable to the beginning of the eighteenth century (G. Briganti, Gaspar van Wittel, L. Laureati and L. Trezzani eds., Milan, 1996, p. 154, no. 61). Painted on a larger scale, the present view was probably conceived as an overmantel, as suggested by its format, as was a second composition with which it was sold in 1965 depicting Rome, the Tiber looking towards the Castel Sant'Angelo and Saint Peter's Basilica, a view known in multiple versions, including the following lot.
The view is taken from the gardens of Santa Francesca Romana, on the site where the imposing ruins of Hadrian’s Temple of Venus and Roma once stood. Today, the viewpoint corresponds roughly to the end of Via dei Fori Imperiali. Between the Colosseum and the Arch of Constantine can be seen the Vigna Paganica and the ruins of the Curia Ostilia, together with the gardens of the Noviziato dei Missionari. On the hill beyond rises the campanile of the church of Santi Giovanni e Paolo. The conical structure in the middle distance, before the Arch of Constantine, is the Meta Sudans, a distinctive cone-shaped fountain commissioned by the emperor Titus, rebuilt under Domitian and demolished in 1936. In the right foreground, an artist sits sketching the Colosseum while seated on blocks of stone, while another, dressed in a red coat and hat, stands nearby with his sketchbook tucked under his arm. A third artist, wearing a yellow coat, is seated on a ledge at centre left, framed by one of the arches of the Colosseum and accompanied by two figures. A pentiment, visible to the naked eye, reveals that the pointing figure in the red coat was originally positioned further to the left.
For stylistic reasons, this view can be dated to Joli’s years in England, between 1744 and 1749. It is not known whether it was commissioned by a member of the Lascelles family, or whether it was intended for a specific site. Tancred Borenius, who first published the work in his catalogue of the Harewood collection, recorded its location as Goldsborough Hall; however, that house was only acquired by the family in the mid- to late 1750s, after Joli had left England. Another painting by Joli, Venice, a view of the Bacino di San Marco, is inscribed ‘M Lascelle / [L]ond’, indicating that the artist was patronised by the Lascelles family (by descent until sold in these Rooms, 8 December 2004, lot 90). The ‘Lascelle’ in the inscription may refer to Daniel Lascelles (1714-1784) of Goldsborough Hall, Yorkshire, M.P. for Northallerton, who may have commissioned that picture – and the present work – for his London residence. The Jacobean Goldsborough Hall underwent significant refurbishment in the 1760s and remained continuously inhabited by the Lascelles family until the 1930s, after which Harewood House became their principal seat. If Daniel Lascelles was indeed the patron who commissioned this work, its provenance has remained unbroken to the present day.