Giovanni Paolo Panini (1691 - 1765), The Lottery at Piazza Montecitorio, Rome

Property of the late Marcello Violante Giovanni Paolo Panini (1691 - 1765) The Lottery at Piazza Montecitorio, Rome Black ink, black chalk, watercolour and gouache on paper Literature: F. Arisi, Strenna Piacentina, 2003, pp. 118-221;A. di Croce in A. Lo Bianco, A. Negro, lI Settecento a Roma, exh. cat., Palazzo Venezia 2005-2006, no. 145,p. 248-9, ill. 145;The National Gallery Review, London, April 2006-March2007, р. 12;P. Fuhring in A. Grelle lusco, E. Giffi, La Raccolta di Matrici della Calcografia Romana, Rome 2009, pp. 28-9, 42-3;Chaucer Fine Arts, Gian Paolo Panini, Work in Progress, London 2010, no. 1.Exhibition: Il Settecento a Roma (2005 - 2006) Dimensions: (Canvas) 17.5 in. (H) x 28 in. (W) (Frame) 23.5 in. (H) x 34 in. (W) This spectacular drawing is one of two large, coloured presentation drawings of this subject, which Panini painted for Cardinal Domenico Orsini, Duke of Gravina (1719-1789) some time in the 1740s. These are among the most complete and highly finished drawings by Panini to have come to light so far. The painting (105 x 165 cm., National Gallery, London; Arisi 1961, p. 176, no. 173; 1986, p. 404, no.346) bears a date that has sometimes been read as 1747 but recent investigation following cleaning has found only a downward brushstroke of the last digit, also legible as 1 or 4 (The National Gallery Review 2006-7, p. 12). Our drawing is undated, but the other (341 x 543 mm., Metropolitan Museum, New York: J. L. Draper, The Lottery in Piazza Montecitorio, Master Drawings, 1969, pp.27ff; Bean/Stampfle Drawings from New York Collections The 18th Century in Italy, 1971, pp.39-40, no.55; Arisi 1986, loc. Cit) is inscribed 1743, the most attractive date as it was in February that year that the latter was begun in the Piazza Montecitorio, and moreover in September that Panini's patron, Orsini, was appointed a cardinal. The presence of a figure carrying a tablet inscribed with the date 1741 in the painting is unexplained. Panini's painting for Orsini is one of those in which he moved on from architectural capricci and scenography or views of architectural splendour tempered by scenes of everyday life, to document modern history; royal visits, receptions for foreign ambassadors and the festivals, ceremonies and public events of Rome's official calendar, of which lotteries were among the most popular with the citizenry. In both drawings and in the painting, the painter included a man seated in the left foreground, sketching or writing. He might be the artist himself, or alternatively be there to record the numbers of the winning tickets (Draper 1969, p.32). Either way he is himself attracting attention from a small group of curious admirers. Lotteries were favourite events for the Roman crowd, drawing all classes to the chance of a quick win. Although the Vatican had traditionally disapproved and even banned lotteries from the Papal States, they were reinstated by Pope Clement XII in 1725, at a time of financial hardship, to benefit good causes. At least nine draws took place each year and from 1743 they were held on the balcony of the Palazzo di Montecitorio, then the Curia Innocenziana and the seat of the papal tribunals. Panini shows the winning tickets being drawn. In both drawings the dignitaries on the balcony are unidentifiable although in the painting it is apparent that a child is drawing the tickets which float down to the eager crowd; this child seems more elegantly dressed than the poor orphans who usually performed the task in the following century.