Circle of Giovanni Paolo Panini, Architectural capriccio with Alexander at the Tomb of Achilles

oil on canvas. 61 by 63 3/8 in.; 155 by 161 cm. Estimate 70,000—90,000 USD

NOTE: Though a fine painter of real views of Rome, it was Panini's fanciful capricci of architectural ruins and palazzi which secured his international fame and popularity and which left an indelible mark on European landscape painting, inspiring a number of important French and Italian artists.

The present canvas represents a striking and skillful rendition of Panini's stylised and picturesque topography. In contrast to the precise landscape aesthetic of Bellotto or Vanvitelli, known architectural monuments are here integrated into an imagined arrangement, whimsically illuminated by a broad, radiant sky.

The scene is that of Alexander at the Tomb of Achilles, with Alexander the Great in blue on the left signalling to soldiers on the right who struggle to lever off the lid of the porphyry tomb with a pole. Panini chose the same subject for his reception piece for the Accademia di San Luca (see F. Arisi, Giovanni Paolo Panini 1691-1765, Milan, 1993). In the left foreground the artist incoporates a statue inspired by one of the Horsetamers on the Quirinal Hill and in the left middle ground the Pyramid of Cestius.

Sotheby's. Important Old Master Paintings, Including European Works of Art. 29 Jan 09. New York www.sothebys.com photo courtesy Sotheby's