Pierre Antoine Demachy (1723 – 1807), Architectural Capriccio

Pierre Antoine Demachy (Paris, 1723 – Louvre, 1807)

Architectural whim

Oil on canvas, 63 x 75 cm

With frame, 72 x 84 cm

Dominated by a certain compositional and perspective rigor, the work in question represents a valuable example of architectural Capriccio, that is, of that genre in vogue in the 18th century initiated by the Emilian Panini and which consisted in recreating compositions having as their subject ancient architecture and ruins, imaginatively assembled.

Almost in the center of the canvas stands an obelisk closed on the sides by imposing classical buildings that slope towards the background. The pronaos of a Corinthian temple on one side act as a scenic backdrop in the foreground, and on the other a high base supporting a column on which some stone fragments are stacked, in the wake of Panini and Ghisolfi. 

Then you can see a circular temple and a triumphal arch, while a pyramid fades into the horizon, like the one wanted by Gaius Cestius in Rome. The scene is enlivened by some figures acting in the proscenium. 

The reference to classical and particularly Roman antiquities allows us to refer the work to the French painter Pierre Antoine Demachy born in Paris in 1723. He trained at the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture in 1753 where he was a pupil of Giovan Battista Servandoni, a specialized artist in architectural whims and Tromp l'oeil. Servandoni was a direct student of Panini in Rome and learned from him the principles of the Capriccio genre, which were transmitted to Demachy, also thanks to the circulation of engravings of the Emilian master's works in France. Demachy demonstrates It can also be assumed that Demachy was also indirectly familiar with the works of the Galli di Bibbiena family of set designers and architects. 

In fact, Demachy never left France but, nevertheless, he used to sign his works followed by "Roma", recalling the strong Italian and above all Panini influence: it is no coincidence that the Mercury of October 1757 wrote that the Capricci exhibited by Demachy could have been mistaken for those of Panini. 

Demachy also used to depict Parisian monuments under construction or demolition with an accentuated ruinistic character, but also interiors of cathedrals and churches, of which an example is the Capriccio preserved in the Louvre in Paris. 

Demachy's work, strongly inspired by Panini's models, contributed to the spread of the genre in France, also thanks to the engraving reproduction of some of his whims which were used by the cabinetmakers of the time to decorate furnishings with inlay. 

The object is in good condition

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