Giovanni Paolo Panini
, Italian, c.1692-1765
Title
A Capriccio with Saint Peter Preaching to the RomansDate1742
MediumOil on canvas
Dimensions
72.5 x 98 cm
Signedlower left: I.P. Panini Romae 1742
Credit LineMilltown Gift, 1902
Object numberNGI.728
Label TextThis is Panini’s second example of a religious subject placed against the theatrical backdrop of generic ruins and antiquities. On the left is the Medici Vase, then at the Villa Medici in Rome. It stands opposite the Sarcophagus of Saint Helena (Vatican museums), a reddish purple porphyry coffin where Saint Helena, the mother of Emperor Constantine the Great, was buried. In order to unify and enhance the four Panini canvases, Joseph Leeson, the 1st Earl of Milltown, added lavish gilt Italian frames, which reflected his taste for rich ornamentation.