In the 18th century, the French were embroiled in a revolution in which church property was secularized. The Pope was deprived of his temporal power, expelled from Rome, and brought to France as a prisoner. This century was also known as the Age of Enlightenment, which was the cultural movement of intellectuals that focused on reasoning rather than tradition. In the art world, Neoclassicism and Rococo were also making their arrival into cultural society. One such artist was Giovanni Paolo Panini, who in 1731 painted a marvelous piece, named Interior of St. Peter’s, Rome. This piece represented one of Catholicism’s majestic architectural structures located in Rome, Italy. The basilica was completed in 1615 under Pope Paul V and under the direction of brilliant architects such as Donato Bramante, Michelangelo, and Bernini. Located in Vatican City, St. Peter’s Basilica is a major basilica, and until recently was the largest church ever built. St. Peter’s Basilica remains one of the holiest sites in Christendom, and stands where the apostle Peter, who was considered by some as the first pope, was crucified and buried. This particular piece is displayed at the St. Louis Art Museum located in St. Louis, Missouri. It is part of the museum’s European Provenance Disclosure Project. To truly understand what Panini was trying to express in this piece, one must first understand Panini as an artist.
Giovanni Paolo Panini was born in 1691 in the town of Piacenza, located in Northern Italy. He started his training under the tutelage of a stage designer, and later moved to Rome where he began to specialize in decorations. In 1718, Panini was admitted into the Academy of St. Luke in Rome. His reception piece, which was completed in 1719, was titled Alexander Visiting the Tomb of Achilles. The majority of Panini’s canvases prior to 1730 feature religious or historical subjects of an explicit nature. His frescoes at the Villa Patrizi, which were completed between 1718...