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Interior of the Pantheon, Rome
Giovanni Paolo Panini, 1747
The Pantheon in Rome was built as a temple under the emperor Hadrian, around AD 125, and became a Christian church in 609. The Cleveland Museum of Art notes that important restoration took place in the early 1700s, when there was new interest in early Christian monuments.
Giovanni Paolo Panini painted this view in 1747. In his day the building was a major monument of antiquity, a working church, and, through its portico, the site of the city's most important art fair. He shows all that at once, with foreign visitors, local churchgoers, Roman nobles and artists mingling under the dome.
The painting is about 127 by 98 centimetres without its frame. Panini specialised in views of Rome like this one, and they were popular souvenirs for travellers.
From the museum record
| Artist | Giovanni Paolo Panini |
|---|---|
| Date | 1747 |
| Medium | Oil on canvas |
| Size | Unframed: 127 x 97.8 cm |
| Museum | The Cleveland Museum of Art |
| Credit line | Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund |
| Accession number | 1974.39 |
| Licence | Open Access (CC0) |
Source: The Cleveland Museum of Art collection record. Facts such as dates, sizes and credit lines come from that record. The write-up above was drafted with AI assistance and checked against the museum record and standard references. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.
