View in the Roman Forum, early 1650s
Oil on canvasexpand_more
Gift of Dr. Alfred Baderexpand_more 66.6
On View in Gallery 310expand_more
This realistic landscape is actually an architectural fantasy, or capriccio, created by Viviano Codazzi. It includes real ruins in the background, like the half-buried Arch of Septimius Severus and the Palazzo Senatorio in Rome. But the large ruin dominating the left foreground, with its row of Corinthian columns, is pure fiction. The painting was designed to lend a sense of grandeur to these architectural ruins, creating a setting more theatrical than pastoral. To make the scene more believable, Codazzi wanted to add figures, called staffage. But he was untrained in figure painting, so he hired another artist, Michelangelo Cerquozzi, to complete the work.
Conservation of this picture's frame was made possible by a generous contribution from Al and Dena Naylor through the Art Champions program.
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Details
- Title
- View in the Roman Forum
- Artist Life
- Italian (Rome), 1603–1670
- Role
- Artist
- Accession Number
- 66.6
- Provenance
- Art market, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, by 1965, as by Paolo Pannini; Alfred Bader, Milwaukee, Wisconsin (until 1966; given to Mia as by MIchelangelo Cerquozzi)
- Curator Approved
This record is from historic documentation and may not have been reviewed by a curator, so may be inaccurate or incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please email collectionsdata@artsmia.org.
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