40. Toscanella. Egl.[ise] S. Pietro. façade

Toscanella is a town in Italy, not far from Rome. The Romanesque church of S. Pietro was first built in the 8th century with major changes occurring in the 11th and 13th centuries. It is in the form of a Roman basilica, with a nave, two aisles and an apse. Girault de Prangey concentrates here on the front elevation with its finely carved rose window, the bright sunlight highlighting the modelling of the façade. By moving ever so slightly off-centre he has maintained the apparent symmetry of the façade itself while also giving depth to the raised central portion indicating the height of the nave.

The artist made four or possibly five small format images here, including a detail of one of the capitals (see lot 44). He also photographed the Etruscan sculpture of a lion sold at auction in May 2003 (lot 5).