MICHELANGELO PACETTI, View of the Roman Forum from the Capitoline Hill, with the Temple of Saturn, Septimius Severus’ Arch, Constantine’s Arch and the Colosseum on the background, Roma, 1843

MICHELANGELO PACETTI ROME 1793 -1865

View of the Roman Forum from the Capitoline Hill, with the Temple of Saturn, Septimius Severus’ Arch, Constantine’s Arch and the Colosseum on the background, Roma, 1843

Oil on canvas

70,2 x 90,4 cm

Signed and dated lower right: “M Pacetti Roma 1843”

Michelangelo Pacetti attended the Accademia of San Luca, then he kept up studying with the Belgian painter Martin Verstappen who arrived in Rome in 1804 and became his brother-in-law in 1819.

Pacetti’s first known works dated back to 1928: an album and a series of drawings in pencil, dated and signed, currently kept in the Museum of Rome at Palazzo Braschi.

During his career the Roman artist depicted rural scenes, still-lives paintings but most of all landscapes and views of Naples and Rome, such as The town of Naples seen from the coast of Chiaia in 1832, View of Albano Lake in 1832, View of Tiber in Rome with Saint Peter and Castel S’Angelo dated 1835.

This painting represents a view of the Roman Forum with the ruins of the Temple of Saturn, whose huge columns are in great contrast with the two tiny people in the foreground: one of the two figures is dedicating himself to live-painting, a very common and widespread activity of that time. The influence of the romantic trend, which was prevailing in the mid XIX century in Rome, is evident not only because of the choice of subject as love for antiquity is solemnly given by the great Roman monuments, but also from the use of colour as light and chiaroscuro technique are skillfully employed.

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