Rome: View of the Tiber

The painting shows a view of the Tiber with the Ponte and Castel Sant’Angelo, St Peter’s Basilica and the Vatican beyond. Joli painted the site on a number of occasions, introducing slight changes in the format, viewpoint and staffage of each representation.

This panoramic view is topographical but Joli delights in populating his scenes with lively figures, both on the river and on its banks, and this is what gives each rendition its individuality: here merchants load their wares on a small trading vessel, a gondolier takes two ladies on a trip down the river, citizens and tourists of Rome cross the Ponte Sant’Angelo and point at the sites, and all this is imbued with the golden light that so inspired vedutisti to paint Rome in all her true colours.