Vizcaya’s patron, James Deering, purchased a small painting from the Anglo-Florentine art dealer and collector, Arthur Acton (1873–1953) in 1914, which would decorate the guest bedroom known as Lady Hamilton, located in the North Tower. This oval-shaped painting shows two young women among architectural ruins engaged in conversation before one monumental marble vase that predominates the composition. Since Vizcaya opened as a public museum, the painting was relocated to the bottom of the North Tower’s staircase for visitor enjoyment. It has now been recently restored and reinstalled at the landing of the North Tower staircase in the Gallery of the Main House.
In the 1700s, depictions of architecture from classical antiquity, often set in imaginative landscapes and among Roman ruins, gained considerable popularity. Giovanni Paolo Panini (1691-1765), a renowned painter of such views, known as vedute, in eighteenth-century Rome, was originally credited as the artist of Vizcaya’s painting when it was purchased.
While Vizcaya’s painting doesn’t bear any signature, Panini’s influence is apparent in its composition. The large vase with dancing figures is a recurring motif in Panini’s works, and a similar seated female figure can be found in other paintings by him. For example, Panini’s Ruins with the Vase of Dancers and Figures (1753?) bears a resemblance to Vizcaya’s composition, with a large vase on the left and a seated woman on the right.
Vizcaya’s painting retains a sketch-like quality due to its loose brushstrokes, whereas another version of the painting, housed at the Museum of Fine Arts in Budapest, exhibits a more finished appearance.
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A prolific artist, Panini’s real and imaginary views of Ancient and Modern Rome were popular among patrons and tourists. Large garden vases, like the one featured in Vizcaya’s painting, were inspired by archeological discoveries such as the Medici and Borghese vases. Vizcaya itself is home to two small copies that grace the Entrance Hall.
Admirers of these types of vases were the English noblemen on the Grand Tour, the educational expedition par excellence in the 1700s, which was as much a cultural pursuit, as a rite of passage for the young and privileged aristocrats.
They collected them as architectural models and were portrayed with them for posterity. These antique objects became a signifier of the collector’s worldliness and appreciation for ancient culture—qualities that would no doubt have been in the mind of Vizcaya’s artistic director when decorating Vizcaya for his patron, James Deering.
CONSERVATION TREATMENT
The painting was first treated shortly after its purchase. A letter in Vizcaya’s Archives suggests it was sent back to Arthur Acton in Florence for restoration in 1915. With the support of a generous grant, the painting has undergone conservation once again. The dusty surface has been cleaned, and the aged varnish was carefully lifted and reapplied, restoring the artist’s original colors. We extend our gratitude to The Villagers for their generous support in funding the conservation treatment for this painting.
SUPPORT VIZCAYA’S CONSERVATION EFFORTS
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