Description
With much of Saint Peter’s Basilica obscured by the energetic lines that form the foliage, the building appears integrated into the landscape in this river scene. What stands out is the massive dome jutting from the tree line. Designed by Michelangelo in 1547, the dome was completed in 1590, after his death. Michelangelo made many contributions to the architecture of Rome, but it was the dome of Saint Peter’s that fundamentally altered the city’s iconic skyline. Although loosely sketched and without fine detail, the dome in this drawing remains immediately recognizable as an emblem of Rome.
Provenance
Richard Cosway, London (according to label from Schaeffer Galleries; Lugt 628-9). William Esdaile, London (Lugt 2617, lower right, inscribed in brown ink); his sale, Christie and Manson, London, Part III, 18-25 June 1840 (according to departmental cataloging sheet). Eric H. L. Sexton (Lugt 2769c, verso, lower right, in violet ink). Mrs. Hanns S. Schaeffer, New York (according to departmental card); [Schaeffer Galleries, New York]
Accession Number
1978.21
Medium
pen and brown ink over traces of black chalk; framing lines in graphite
Dimensions
Sheet: 11.4 x 26.5 cm (4 1/2 x 10 7/16 in.)
Classification
Drawing
Credit Line
Delia E. Holden Fund
Tags
Drawing Baroque (1600–1750) Ink Graphite & Pencil Italian
Background & Context
Background Story
Giovanni Francesco Grimaldi (1606-1680), known as Il Bolognese, was an Italian painter and printmaker known for the atmospheric landscape paintings and etchings with views of Rome that make him one of the most accomplished landscape painters of the Italian Baroque. River Landscape with View of St. Peter's Basilica from after 1660 depicts a river landscape with a view of St. Peter's Basilica in the atmospheric, elegantly composed manner that distinguishes Grimaldi's best work from the more general landscape painting of his contemporaries. Grimaldi was known for his atmospheric landscapes with views of Roman landmarks, and his work influenced the development of landscape painting across Europe.
Cultural Impact
River Landscape with View of St. Peter's Basilica is important in the history of Italian landscape painting because it demonstrates the atmospheric, elegantly composed manner that Grimaldi (Il Bolognese) brought to landscape subjects with views of Rome. Grimaldi's atmospheric landscapes with views of Roman landmarks—combining the atmospheric effect of the Italian landscape with the elegant composition that is his most distinctive contribution—influenced the development of landscape painting across Europe, and the after 1660 etching shows this tradition at its most atmospheric.
Why It Matters
River Landscape with View of St. Peter's Basilica is Grimaldi's atmospheric Italian landscape: a river landscape with St. Peter's rendered in the elegantly composed manner of one of the most accomplished landscape painters of the Italian Baroque. The after 1660 etching shows the combination of atmospheric effect with Roman landmarks that influenced landscape painting across Europe.
