There is one other image of this object. This image is in the public domain (free of copyright restrictions), and as such we offer a high-resolution image of it. See our image rights statement.

 

See more objects with the color tan grey dimgrey wheat darkslategrey or see all the colors for this object.

Object Timeline

2009

2015

2024

  • You found it!

Drawing, Interior of St. Peter's Illuminated

This is a Drawing. It was created by Francesco Panini. It is dated before 1787 and we acquired it in 2009. Its medium is brush and watercolor over pen and ink on tan laid paper. It is a part of the Drawings, Prints, and Graphic Design department.

This drawing depicts the display of the large illuminated cross in the nave of Saint Peter’s Basilica during Holy Week.
Francesco Panini was the younger son of the painter Giovanni Paolo Panini. The elder son, Guiseppe, was an architect who is noted for his work on the Trevi Fountain. Francesco trained in his father’s workshop and specialized in making preparatory drawings for etchings of architectural subjects. For printmaking, he worked with engravers including Domenico Montagù, Giuseppe Vasi, Francesco Polanzani, Domenico Cigni, Giovanni Ottaviani, and Giovanni Volpato.
While Panini’s representation of this scene is less dramatic than that rendered by Louis-Jean Desprez, also proposed for acquisition, it is more carefully drawn. The two sheets, as an ensemble, would make a wonderful comparison for anyone working on Roman views by Piranesi and his contemporaries.

This object was bequest of Joseph F. McCrindle. It is credited Bequest of Joseph F. McCrindle.

Its dimensions are

43.8 x 56.4 cm (16 9/16 x 21 1/2 in.)

Cite this object as

Drawing, Interior of St. Peter's Illuminated; Francesco Panini (ca. 1725 – ca. 1794); brush and watercolor over pen and ink on tan laid paper; 43.8 x 56.4 cm (16 9/16 x 21 1/2 in.); Bequest of Joseph F. McCrindle; 2009-4-2

This image is in the public domain (free of copyright restrictions). You can copy, modify, and distribute this work without contacting the Smithsonian. For more information, visit the Smithsonian’s Terms of Use page.

If you would like to cite this object in a Wikipedia article please use the following template:

<ref name=CH>{{cite web |url=https://collection.cooperhewitt.org/objects/18710849/ |title=Drawing, Interior of St. Peter's Illuminated |author=Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |accessdate=19 April 2024 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution}}</ref>