“Porta San Giovanni in Rome”, Oil on canvas

This oil on canvas depicts a bustling view of the Porta San Giovanni in Rome, with the Basilica of St John Lateran standing out in the background. In the foreground, horsemen, pedestrians, horse-drawn carriages and locals converge towards the gate, creating a lively scene with picturesque touches. The small buildings, the water source and the vegetation evoke the still largely rural character of the outskirts of Rome in the 19th century. The composition is centered on the luminous opening of the gate, which guides the eye towards the city. On the left, the buildings form a succession of planes leading up to the monumental façade of the basilica; on the right, a large umbrella pine balances the architecture and frames the scene. The clear sky, streaked with delicate clouds, lends depth and luminosity to the whole scene. Original frame decorated with foliage, flowers, ears of wheat and scrolls.

Size: H 40 cm x W 58 cm – H 59 cm x W 77 cm

European school, probably Italian or French, c. 1830–1860

Lit: The painting combines the descriptive precision characteristic of the Italian ‘veduta’ with a more atmospheric Romantic sensibility. The warm tones of the masonry, the splashes of colour in the costumes and the contrast between the monuments, the ruins and everyday life lend the work a decorative quality characteristic of souvenirs from the Grand Tour. In the 1820s, Rome attracted many European painters who revitalised landscape painting and produced studies or small-format paintings on site. As a stylistic comparison, one might mention the circle of landscape painters active in Rome in the 19th century, notably Achille Vianelli, Salomon Corrodi, Franz Ludwig Catel and certain artists associated with Giambattista Bassi’s circle.

Lit: Porta San Giovanni is one of the monumental gates in the Aurelian Wall, a vast fortification built around Rome at the end of the 3rd century. It does not, however, date from antiquity: it was built at the request of Pope Gregory XIII and inaugurated in 1574, as part of the redevelopment of the Lateran district. Its name derives from the neighbouring basilica of San Giovanni in Laterano, St John Lateran, the cathedral of Rome and the papal see.

The new gate facilitated travel to the Roman countryside and southern Italy. Its architect has not been identified with certainty: ancient texts mention only a famous architect named Giacomo. Built of travertine, the gate is distinguished by its single large archway and its relatively simple architecture, devoid of towers, bastions and battlements. It is more reminiscent of the grand entrance to an aristocratic villa than a defensive structure. Its façade is adorned with a large, bearded mask and a Latin inscription recalling that Gregory XIII had the road built and the gate erected for the public good and the beautification of Rome. Until the end of the 19th century, the area surrounding it retained a rural character. Meadows, farms, vineyards, vegetable gardens and taverns stretched beyond the walls; the Romans enjoyed visiting this area on their excursions outside the city. It is likely this transitional landscape—between the working-class countryside, monumental ruins and the papal city—that the painting seeks to capture. At the beginning of the 20th century, the increase in traffic led to the opening of side passages in the city walls.