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Lot Essay
We are grateful to Professor Dario Succi for the attribution to Giuseppe Zais (verbal communication, 11 April 2005). He believes that the present paintings were executed in the 1760s.
Zais may have served an apprenticeship in Belluno before moving, probably around 1725-30, to Venice, where he worked as a landscape painter for nearly 50 years. The first and most important influence on his art was that of Marco Ricci, also from Belluno, who was in Venice from 1717 until his death in 1729. Ricci's etchings, published in 1730, provided Zais with a useful source of inspiration. Zais's contact with Francesco Zuccarelli in the early 1730s softened Ricci's influence and introduced an increased refinement into his work.
Zais received many commissions from the English Consul in Venice, Joseph Smith, but none of these works can now be identified. The presence of Antonio Joli in Venice in the 1760s may have acted as a catalyst for Zais to produce paintings not only in the style of Joli, but, as in the present case, based on actual Joli compositions, albeit with marked differences in the staffage. He worked tirelessly, adapting his style to suit the different genres requested by his patrons, drawing from the Flemish followers of Andries Both and from the battle scenes of Francesco Simonini. From 1748 to 1768 he was a member of the Fraglia dei Pittori Veneziani, in 1765 he applied for admission to the Accademia di Venezia but was only accepted in 1774 as a landscape painter. Other works include some fresco decorations in the Villa Pisani at Stra, near Venice, and the illustrations for a 1772 edition of Ariosto's Orlando Furioso.
This exact view of the Tiber is best known from paintings by Antonio Joli, who adapted it a number of times. It was also popular among Joli's contemporaries, including Gaspar van Wittel, who is known to have painted at least eleven versions of the site. Vanvitelli's paintings are mostly based upon his drawing, in the Biblioteca Nazionale Vittorio Emanuele, Rome (see G. Briganti, Gaspar van Wittel, Milan, 1996, p. 399, no. D321, illustrated p. 400). In contrast, Joli's lower viewpoint draws the observer in much closer to the Ponte Sant'Angelo. Moreover, while Vanvitelli includes a palazzo with an extensive terrace in the lower left corner of his compositions (which Briganti assumes to be a compositional device invented by the artist), Joli's view appears to be topographically accurate.
Clearly, the focal point of the composition is the huge and impressive fortress of Castel Sant' Angelo, surmounted by Pieter Antoine Verschaffelt's bronze angel of 1752, which replaced Rafaello da Montelupo's marble original. The Castel Sant' Angelo was originally conceived as a mausoleum for the Emperor Hadrian (A.D. 76-138), but in the early Middle Ages it was surrounded by ramparts and became the citadel of Rome, serving as a place of refuge for Popes until the eighteenth century.
Spanning the Tiber is the Ponte Sant' Angelo, topped with two over life-size marble angels holding the Instruments of the Passion, commissioned by Clement IX and carved under the direction of Bernini circa 1667-72 (he also renovated the bridge, adding iron grillwork to the redesigned parapets thus enabling passersby to see the flowing river). Bernini directed a team of eight sculptors, each of whom carved one angel, while he himself made two. Clement IX, on viewing them in the sculptor's studio, decided they were too good to be placed on the bridge and ordered copies made. Bernini secretly carved one of the replacements himself (the 'Angel with the Superscription') and it remains in situ. For centuries the Ponte Sant' Angelo provided the only access from the center of Rome to the Vatican and, therefore, the only point of entry for pilgrims and processions bound for St. Peter's.
The several versions of The Tiber, Rome, with the Castel Sant' Angelo and Saint Peter's in the background testify to its popularity with Joli's clientele and indicate that the artist probably based his variant compositions and those executed by his studio on drawings made during his stay in the Eternal City (see, for example, the catalogue of the exhibition, Vedute Italiana dell '700 in collezioni private italiane, Museo Diocesano d'Arte Sacra, Sant' Apollonia, Venice, 19 September - 8 November 1987, pp. 91-2, no. 60, illustrated p. 102; New York, P. & D. Colnaghi, 17 November - 23 December 1994, no. 18, pl. XI, which differs in the staffage and includes an extension of the riverbank lower left; and other paintings sold at Christie's, London, 1 April 1960, lot 104; 2 July 1965, lot 93; 1 July 1966, lot 15; 29 June 1973, lot 44; 9 April 1990, lot 84; 9 July 1993, lot 98; and 10 December 2003, lot 48, as well as in New York on 24 January 2003, lot 166.
The Roman Forum, taken from almost the same viewpoint as the one chosen by Panini in his painting of 1735, now in the Detroit Institute of Arts, Michigan (Inv. no. 47.93; F. Arisi, Gian Paolo Panini, 1986, p. 346, no. 229, illustrated), is likewise a composition painted by Joli on a number of occasions. Another version was sold at Christie's, London, 24 May 2002, lot 82, and one on 10 July of the same year, lot 166.
Visible on the extreme left of the present painting is the Temple of Antoninus and Faustina (transformed into the church of San Lorenzo in Miranda), to the right, the Basilica of Maxentius, and, behind the church of S. Francesca Romana, the Colosseum. To the right of the arch of Titus are the Palatine Hill with the Farnese Gardens (erected under Pope Paul III), the Church of Santa Maria Liberatrice (rebuilt in 1617 by Onorio Lunghi, redecorated in the eighteenth century, and demolished in 1899) and the three columns of the Temple of Castor and Pollux. On the extreme right we can see the columns of the Temple of Saturn.
In this painting, the Forum Romanum has become a place where elegantly dressed people stroll and can be seen while carriages pass through on the Via Sacra. The function of the Forum as 'Campo Vaccino' (literally, a resting place for cows and ox carts used by peasants to transport their wares, as well as a settlement of cart builders) lasted from approximately the end of the sixteenth century until 1873.
Ralph Toledano believes the present paintings are by Antonio Joli and studio, based on photographs (verbal communication, 12 April 2005).
Zais may have served an apprenticeship in Belluno before moving, probably around 1725-30, to Venice, where he worked as a landscape painter for nearly 50 years. The first and most important influence on his art was that of Marco Ricci, also from Belluno, who was in Venice from 1717 until his death in 1729. Ricci's etchings, published in 1730, provided Zais with a useful source of inspiration. Zais's contact with Francesco Zuccarelli in the early 1730s softened Ricci's influence and introduced an increased refinement into his work.
Zais received many commissions from the English Consul in Venice, Joseph Smith, but none of these works can now be identified. The presence of Antonio Joli in Venice in the 1760s may have acted as a catalyst for Zais to produce paintings not only in the style of Joli, but, as in the present case, based on actual Joli compositions, albeit with marked differences in the staffage. He worked tirelessly, adapting his style to suit the different genres requested by his patrons, drawing from the Flemish followers of Andries Both and from the battle scenes of Francesco Simonini. From 1748 to 1768 he was a member of the Fraglia dei Pittori Veneziani, in 1765 he applied for admission to the Accademia di Venezia but was only accepted in 1774 as a landscape painter. Other works include some fresco decorations in the Villa Pisani at Stra, near Venice, and the illustrations for a 1772 edition of Ariosto's Orlando Furioso.
This exact view of the Tiber is best known from paintings by Antonio Joli, who adapted it a number of times. It was also popular among Joli's contemporaries, including Gaspar van Wittel, who is known to have painted at least eleven versions of the site. Vanvitelli's paintings are mostly based upon his drawing, in the Biblioteca Nazionale Vittorio Emanuele, Rome (see G. Briganti, Gaspar van Wittel, Milan, 1996, p. 399, no. D321, illustrated p. 400). In contrast, Joli's lower viewpoint draws the observer in much closer to the Ponte Sant'Angelo. Moreover, while Vanvitelli includes a palazzo with an extensive terrace in the lower left corner of his compositions (which Briganti assumes to be a compositional device invented by the artist), Joli's view appears to be topographically accurate.
Clearly, the focal point of the composition is the huge and impressive fortress of Castel Sant' Angelo, surmounted by Pieter Antoine Verschaffelt's bronze angel of 1752, which replaced Rafaello da Montelupo's marble original. The Castel Sant' Angelo was originally conceived as a mausoleum for the Emperor Hadrian (A.D. 76-138), but in the early Middle Ages it was surrounded by ramparts and became the citadel of Rome, serving as a place of refuge for Popes until the eighteenth century.
Spanning the Tiber is the Ponte Sant' Angelo, topped with two over life-size marble angels holding the Instruments of the Passion, commissioned by Clement IX and carved under the direction of Bernini circa 1667-72 (he also renovated the bridge, adding iron grillwork to the redesigned parapets thus enabling passersby to see the flowing river). Bernini directed a team of eight sculptors, each of whom carved one angel, while he himself made two. Clement IX, on viewing them in the sculptor's studio, decided they were too good to be placed on the bridge and ordered copies made. Bernini secretly carved one of the replacements himself (the 'Angel with the Superscription') and it remains in situ. For centuries the Ponte Sant' Angelo provided the only access from the center of Rome to the Vatican and, therefore, the only point of entry for pilgrims and processions bound for St. Peter's.
The several versions of The Tiber, Rome, with the Castel Sant' Angelo and Saint Peter's in the background testify to its popularity with Joli's clientele and indicate that the artist probably based his variant compositions and those executed by his studio on drawings made during his stay in the Eternal City (see, for example, the catalogue of the exhibition, Vedute Italiana dell '700 in collezioni private italiane, Museo Diocesano d'Arte Sacra, Sant' Apollonia, Venice, 19 September - 8 November 1987, pp. 91-2, no. 60, illustrated p. 102; New York, P. & D. Colnaghi, 17 November - 23 December 1994, no. 18, pl. XI, which differs in the staffage and includes an extension of the riverbank lower left; and other paintings sold at Christie's, London, 1 April 1960, lot 104; 2 July 1965, lot 93; 1 July 1966, lot 15; 29 June 1973, lot 44; 9 April 1990, lot 84; 9 July 1993, lot 98; and 10 December 2003, lot 48, as well as in New York on 24 January 2003, lot 166.
The Roman Forum, taken from almost the same viewpoint as the one chosen by Panini in his painting of 1735, now in the Detroit Institute of Arts, Michigan (Inv. no. 47.93; F. Arisi, Gian Paolo Panini, 1986, p. 346, no. 229, illustrated), is likewise a composition painted by Joli on a number of occasions. Another version was sold at Christie's, London, 24 May 2002, lot 82, and one on 10 July of the same year, lot 166.
Visible on the extreme left of the present painting is the Temple of Antoninus and Faustina (transformed into the church of San Lorenzo in Miranda), to the right, the Basilica of Maxentius, and, behind the church of S. Francesca Romana, the Colosseum. To the right of the arch of Titus are the Palatine Hill with the Farnese Gardens (erected under Pope Paul III), the Church of Santa Maria Liberatrice (rebuilt in 1617 by Onorio Lunghi, redecorated in the eighteenth century, and demolished in 1899) and the three columns of the Temple of Castor and Pollux. On the extreme right we can see the columns of the Temple of Saturn.
In this painting, the Forum Romanum has become a place where elegantly dressed people stroll and can be seen while carriages pass through on the Via Sacra. The function of the Forum as 'Campo Vaccino' (literally, a resting place for cows and ox carts used by peasants to transport their wares, as well as a settlement of cart builders) lasted from approximately the end of the sixteenth century until 1873.
Ralph Toledano believes the present paintings are by Antonio Joli and studio, based on photographs (verbal communication, 12 April 2005).