Jean-Antoine CONSTANTIN dit Constantin d'Aix (Marseille, 175 - Lot 77

Jean-Antoine CONSTANTIN dit Constantin d'Aix (Marseille, 1756-Aix-en-Provence, 1844) The interior of the Colosseum in Rome, animated by figures draped in the antique style Canvas. 53 x 64 cm. (Re-tinted in the 19th century). From a modest family, Jean-Antoine Constantin was born in Bonneveine, a district of Marseille. He entered the city's art academy, where his master was David de Marseille. In 1773, the excellence of his work earned him the support of benefactors, enabling him to move to Aix, then to Rome. Appointed head of a drawing school in Aix on his return, his pupils included the painter Granet and Auguste de Forbin, future director of the Royal Museums. A precursor of pleinairism like Pierre-Henri de Valenciennes, Constantin brought back a large number of drawings and paintings from Rome. One of his favorite themes was the Colosseum. Seventeen pen-and-wash sheets in the Musée de Marseille bear witness to his passion for this monument, as do several paintings: an oil on paper that appeared at Christie's in Paris in July 2004; an oil on paper at the Metropolitan Museum (2016.802-7), etc. Of these various paintings of the Colosseum, ours seems the most "composed". Its medium (oil on canvas) and the presence of figures draped in antique style suggest that it was painted in the studio from studies brought back from Rome. The same range of colors - contrasting the yellow and soft pink of the sunlit walls with the ochre and dark brown of the dark foreground - and the same pillar structures as in the Christie's 2004 study, are also used. However, our painting is not in the tradition of Hubert Robert's "caprices", as it seeks to make the most of the Colosseum's aesthetic potential while respecting its archaeological authenticity. A precursor of pleinairism in the same vein as Pierre-Henri de Valenciennes, Constantin brought back a large number of drawings and paintings from Rome. One of his favorite themes was the Colosseum. Seventeen pen-and-wash sheets in the Musée de Marseille bear witness to his passion for this monument, as do several paintings: an oil on paper that appeared at Christie's in Paris in July 2004; an oil on paper at the Metropolitan Museum ((2016.802-7), etc.). Of these various paintings of the Colosseum, ours seems the most ambitious, the most "composed". Its very medium (oil on canvas) and the presence of figures draped in antique style suggest that it was painted in the studio after studies brought back from Rome. The same range of colors - contrasting the yellow and soft pink of the sunlit walls with the ochre and dark brown of the dark foreground - and the same pillar structures as in the Christie's 2004 study, are used. However, our painting is not in the tradition of Hubert Robert's "caprices", as it seeks to make the most of the Colosseum's aesthetic potential while respecting its archaeological authenticity.