View Of Rome With The Trevi Fountain, Attributed to Giovanni Giacomo Van Lint

Giovanni Giacomo Van Lint (Rome 1723 - 1790) Attributed

View of Rome with the Trevi Fountain

Oil on canvas

50 x 62 cm - in frame 61 x 74 cm

The work belongs to a series of three paintings, together with the views of Piazza Navona (link) and San Giovanni in Laterano (link).

This splendid view of Rome, depicting the famous Trevi Fountain with Palazzo Poli behind it, is of excellent quality and is attributed to the Roman landscape painter Giovanni Giacomo Van Lint (Rome 1723 - 1790). It is the largest of the famous fountains in the Eternal City, located in the square of the same name, offering a picturesque view at the intersection of the narrow streets of the historic centre.

It was built between 1732 and 1762 at the behest of Pope Clement XII, following the design of architect Nicola Salvi. Let us take a closer look at the majestic stone cliff that rests on Palazzo Poli, allowing the water to flow into the large basin surmounted by the statue of Oceanus, driving a shell-shaped chariot.

The view is characterised by its bright colour palette, with the light of the sun tending to fade, instilling a delicate sense of chromatic tranquillity, a stylistic aspect typical of the mature phase of our painter, who achieved a solid reputation as a landscape painter by depicting the city of Rome with topographical accuracy.

The painting, in particular, is derived from an engraving by the famous Giuseppe Vasi (Corleone 1710 - Rome 1782), taken from the monumental collection entitled “Delle magnificenze di Roma antica e moderna” (The Magnificence of Ancient and Modern Rome), featuring the most beautiful views of the Eternal City, which ensured him great fame, thanks above all to the always original and prospectively captivating style of his compositions and his never predictable choice of subjects.

Giuseppe Vasi, who reveals the fullness of his graphic creativity in this monumental work, became an important point of reference for landscape painters working in Rome: it was customary for artists of the time to refer to his prints - as was the case in Venice with Visentini's engravings - in order to create accurate iconographies of places.

Views such as ours, in particular, were created by Giovanni Giacomo Van Lint to satisfy collectors and refined travellers, especially English, German and French, who visited the city during their “Voyage d'Italie”, eager to possess a “souvenir” image of Rome in its most relaxed and characteristic dimension.

For this reason, he became a much-admired painter and was very successful among foreigners visiting Rome, who bought up small-scale views and landscapes that were easier to transport, so much so that almost all of his paintings are now in private European collections, particularly in the UK.

Reference bibliography: A. Busiri Vici, 'Peter, Hendrik and Giacomo Van Lint. Three painters from Antwerp in the 17th and 18th centuries working in Rome', Bozzi publisher, Rome 1987.