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Lot Essay
A highly skilled painter of marine and naval subjects, Thomas Mitchell was also an infrequent but accomplished landscape painter. This rare topographical painting of Rome is taken from the river’s south bank, in the quarter of Tor di Nona, near the Arco di Parma. On the right is the monumental fortress of Castel Sant' Angelo, originally constructed as a mausoleum for the Emperor Hadrian (A.D. 76-138), and spanning the river is the Ponte Sant' Angelo. Beyond is the Vatican, bathed in warm, Italian light and crowned by the dome of Saint Peter’s. The lantern and pediment of the Ospedale di Santo Spirito in Sassia and part of the façade of Santa Maria in Transpontina are visible immediately to the right.
By the second half of the 18th century, the Castel Sant' Angelo had become something of an icon of Rome, immediately recognizable to the cultivated and affluent patrons of the arts in Mitchell’s native England, who had made the Grand Tour to Italy and desired mementos of its major artistic and historic sights.
By the second half of the 18th century, the Castel Sant' Angelo had become something of an icon of Rome, immediately recognizable to the cultivated and affluent patrons of the arts in Mitchell’s native England, who had made the Grand Tour to Italy and desired mementos of its major artistic and historic sights.