Giovanni Battista dit Battista Vicentino Pittoni

Description

Recently rediscovered, our drawing is preparatory for the 13th plate of the recueuil Discorsi sopra L’Antichita di Roma by Vicenzo Scamozzi and is the only known drawing by Pittoni for this book. Vicenzo Scamozzi describes in each chapter an ancient monument of Rome. Chapter 13 is about the architecture of the Colosseum, and our drawing shows two views of the Roman arena: one is an exterior view of the still buried monument, the other is a cross section. In the background, two figures walk towards a city that could represent Rome. If Pittoni emphasizes the ephemeral character of ancient monuments with the ruins overgrown by vegetation, he also pays attention to their correct transcription. The archaeological precision responded to the interest of Renaissance intellectuals in ancient monuments and the need of artists to find visual sources to create their own classical landscapes. An example of this practice being Veronese’s use of Pittoni’s plates for the frescoes in Villa Barbaro in Maser and Domenico Brusasorci in Palazzo Vescovile in Verona.