Francesco Panini Explained

Francesco Panini or Pannini (Rome, 1745–1812),^{[1] [2]} was an architecture and landscape painter, draughtsman and publisher of prints from the 18th and early 19th century living in Rome, capital of the Papal States, present-day Italy.

Early life and family

Francesco Panini was one of two sons of Giovanni Paolo Panini, a famed 18th-century Italian veduta painter and architect in Rome.^[3]

His brother Giuseppe Pannini (Rome, 1720–1812) was an architect and archaeologist^[4] who in 1762 completed the construction of the Trevi Fountain.^[5] The brothers worked together at different stages of their careers, as some of Francesco's drawings attest.

Career

Francesco Panini collaborated with a number of well-regarded engravers in late 18th-century Rome: Carlo Antonini, Francesco Barbazza, Antonio Capellan, Pier Lorenzo Mangini, Giovanni Ottaviani, Giuseppe Vasi, Giovanni Volpato, etc.^{[6] [7]}

Around 1770 he created a series of hand-coloured views of the St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican in Rome.

He then worked with Giovanni Volpato, a highly talented engraver from the Republic of Venice, who published, between 1772 and 1776, a large series of plates after the frescoes of the Raphael Rooms and the loggias at the Vatican, which gained him a considerable reputation. Some of these plates^[8] were subsequently hand-coloured by Francesco Panini and, while they did not necessarily reproduce the actual design or subjects of the loggias' vaults and pilasters, they became much in demand among visitors to Rome.

With the collaboration of Francesco Panini and Lodovico Teseo, Volpato published, between 1775 and 1777, a series of prints after frescoes painted by Annibale Carracci in the Galleria di Palazzo Farnese.^[9]

Volpato also made an impressive panorama of Rome based on Francesco Panini's drawings, part of the Rijksmuseum collection. Continuing in his father's tradition of drawing Roman vistas, Francesco produced several topographical engravings of Roman sights which were often coloured by hand afterwards.

He also made sometimes larger format oil paintings with subjects such as: the Adorazione dei Magi, The Temple Ruin of Vesta with figures, Rome, Architectural Capriccio with figures, A Capriccio of Hadrian's Villa in Tivoli, Classical Figures in the Ruins of a Public Building, The Rape of Helena by Paris, A Capriccio of Roman Ruins with Soldiers and Women.

For commercial reasons, Francesco copied some of his father's sought-after paintings.

Works

• The Städel Museum in Frankfurt^[10] as well as the Royal Collection in England^[11] have a set of views of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, by Francesco Panini, in their collections.
• The Rodolfo Lanciani Collection in Rome, Italy, holds an impressive number of original sketches and plain or coloured prints by Francesco Panini, as well as some prints by Giuseppe Pannini, his brother.^[12]

Further reading

• Book: Bryan, Michael . Dictionary of Painters and Engravers, Biographical and Critical . George Bell and Sons . 1904 . Williamson . George Charles . new revised and enlarged . IV: N–R . London . 62–63 . Entry on Giovanni Paolo Pannini & his son .
• Cola, Maria Celeste (2012). L'inventario di Francesco Pannini. Dipinti, disegni e contorni nello studio di Palazzo Moroni, (in Italian) [The Inventory of Francesco Pannini. Paintings, drawings and outlines in the studio of [[Palazzo Moroni, Bergamo|Palazzo Moroni]]]. Rivista dell'Istituto Nazionale d'Archeologia e Storia dell'Arte (RIASA), no. 67, III Serie, Anno XXXV, pp. 199–224. (Via ResearchGate). Pisa–Roma: Fabrizio Serra Editore. ISSN: 2037-6634
• Cola, Maria Celeste (2015). Le Vedute di Roma di Francesco Pannini nelle cartelle della collezione Lanciani, (in Italian). [The Views of Rome by Francesco Pannini in the Lanciani Collection]. In Antico, Città, Architettura, II dai disegni e manoscritti dell'Istituto Nazionale di Archeologia e Storia dell'Arte, edited by E. Debenedetti (Studi sul Settecento Romano, 31) [Studies on 18th century Rome, 31], Roma, pp. 91–114.

External links

• Francesco Panini | Artnet
• Rodolfo Lanciani and His Archive: A Visual History of Rome – The Rodolfo Lanciani Digital Archive at Stanford

Notes and References

1. Web site: Explore the Royal Collection Online . 2023-04-25 . Royal Collection Trust.
2. Web site: Pannini, Giovanni Paolo nell'Enciclopedia Treccani . 2023-04-25 . Treccani . it . Translated: Of his sons, Giuseppe (Rome 1720 – 1812), was architect and archaeologist, Francesco (Rome 1725 circa – there after 1794), collaborator of his father, was the author of views for engravings..
3. Book: Bryan . Michael . Bryan's dictionary of painters and engravers . Williamson . George Charles . 1903–1905 . New York . Macmillan . new revised and enlarged . IV: N–R . 64–65.
4. Web site: Pannini, Gian paolo in "Enciclopedia Italiana" . 2023-04-25 . Treccani . it-IT . Translated: In 1724 he had married Miss Gossert, sister-in-law of Wengkels, director of the French Academy, with whom he had two sons: Giuseppe the architect and Francesco the painter, who followed in his father's footsteps and manners..
5. Web site: Trevi Fountain fountain, Rome, Italy . 2023-04-25 . Encyclopædia Britannica . en.
6. Web site: Francesco Panini 76 Artworks . 2023-04-29 . MutualArt . en.
7. Web site: Francesco Panini . 2023-04-29 . Artnet.
8. Web site: Loggie di Rafaele nel Vaticano Musées d'art et d'histoire de Genève . 2023-04-25 . Musée d’art et d’histoire de la Ville de Genève . fr.
9. Web site: Panini . Francesco . Résultats de la recherche . 2023-04-29 . Musées d'art et d'histoire de Genève . fr.
10. Web site: Francesco Pannini . 2023-04-25 . Digital Collection Städel Museum . en.
11. Web site: Explore the Royal Collection Online: search for Francesco Panini and Pannini . 2023-04-25 . Royal Collection Trust.
12. Web site: Stanford University . Images of Rome: The Rodolfo Lanciani Digital Archive . 2023-04-26 . Stanford Libraries . en.