View of the Forum Boarium with the Bizzaccheri fountain and the Temple of Vesta, 19th-century painter
Oil on canvas. Dimensions: with frame cm H 88.5 x W 148.2 x D 5.5; canvas cm H 79.5 x 139.3
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The valuable painting depicts the square known as the Bocca della Verità (Mouth of Truth), located in the Rione Ripa district, in the area of the Forum Boarium, the oldest market in Rome. On the right is described the Roman Temple from around 100 BC, erroneously called the Temple of Vesta, a circular Corinthian monopteros with a rusticated white marble cella and twenty fluted columns. From the 12th century it was reused as a church dedicated to Santo Stefano delle Carrozze, then, in the 18th century, to Santa Maria del Sole. On the right is the fountain called "of the tritons" which was built in 1717 to a design by the architect Carlo Bizzaccheri. The fountain has a star-shaped basin, in honor of the client, Pope Clement XI Albani (1700-1721) in whose coat of arms, above a symbol that indicates three mountains, you can see an eight-pointed star. In the center of the basin, above some rocks, there are two tritons, sculpted by Francesco Maratta, placed back to back and with intertwined tails supporting a shell-shaped basin with the papal coats of arms stamped on it. The square is delimited, in the background, by the boundary wall of the Cenci garden, located on the west side of the square, and the houses on the left bank of the Tiber. In the distance, on the right, is the facade of San Salvatore al Ponte Rotto, and the Torre degli Alberteschi.
Some figures of passers-by, peasants and on the right a washerwoman, animate the scene. The artist, who should be sought among the painters active in the first half of the 19th century in Rome, describes the view on a clear sunny day: the chromatic and luminous values are balanced, the light is warm, diffused, and the urban elements contrast with the blue sky.
The views of the square, and its monuments, have been a privileged subject of 19th-century painters and then photographers and several works with the same point of view are preserved. The painting should therefore be considered a historical document witnessing a precise moment in the appearance of the Forum Boarium, in which the observer will find himself participating, reliving the liveliness of the square. The bright and clear tones of the view give it a strong decorative aspect.
The work, for which further historical-artistic studies are underway, is in a good state of conservation, ready to be placed in your environments.
Item accompanied by a certificate of authenticity.