Carlo III di Borbone visiting the Pope Benedetto XIV in the coffee-house of the Quirinale, Rome

The King of Naples calling on the Pope in the little Coffee House pavilion of the Quirinal gardens in Rome — the pavilion still stands.

The real place in the painting

Coffee House of the Quirinale, Rome

The painting shows a real, identified place that you can find today. The exact spot the artist worked from is not necessarily known.

Carlo III di Borbone visiting the Pope Benedetto XIV in the coffee-house of the Quirinale, Rome — at a glance

Artist

Giovanni Paolo Panini (1691–1765)

Year

1746

Movement

Roman view painting (veduta) / ceremonial

Place

The Coffee House, Quirinal Palace gardens, Rome, Italy

Viewpoint

The garden pavilion by Ferdinando Fuga (1741–43) — it survives in the Quirinal gardens; access is restricted

Medium

Oil on canvas

Dimensions

c. 124 × 173 cm

Now at

Museo di Capodimonte, Naples

Overview

This picture by the Roman view-painter Giovanni Paolo Panini, dated 1746, records a specific event: the visit of Charles of Bourbon — King of Naples and Sicily, later Charles III of Spain — to Pope Benedict XIV. The meeting is shown taking place in and around the Coffee House (Casino), the elegant garden pavilion in the grounds of the Quirinal Palace, its frescoed rooms and terrace crowded with the two courts. It is oil on canvas, about 124 by 173 cm, and it hangs in the Museo di Capodimonte, Naples.

Where was Carlo III di Borbone visiting the Pope Benedetto XIV in the coffee-house of the Quirinale, Rome painted?

Scholarship The Quirinal Palace, on the highest of Rome's hills, was a papal summer residence and is now the residence of the President of the Italian Republic. In its gardens stands the Coffee House (Casino della Palazzina), a low, graceful pavilion built by Ferdinando Fuga for Benedict XIV in 1741–43, with frescoed reception rooms opening to a terrace and garden. The pavilion survives in the Quirinal gardens (which open to the public on limited occasions), so the setting Panini painted still exists, though access is restricted.

Real placeCoffee House of the Quirinale, Rome

ViewpointThe real place in the painting

Coordinates41.90158, 12.48650

Original now atMuseo di Capodimonte, on public display

The real place in the painting Current museum

What is in the painting?

The long frescoed room and its open loggia are filled with figures: the Pope, seated, and the King before him, surrounded by cardinals in red, courtiers, guards and clergy. Through the arches, the terrace and the formal garden with clipped hedges and statues; a glimpse of Rome beyond. The painted ceilings and walls of the real pavilion are carefully reproduced; warm interior light and bright garden beyond.

Look closely

The Pope and the King

Benedict XIV seated, Charles of Bourbon before him, ringed by red-robed cardinals.

The frescoed room

The painted ceilings and walls of the real Coffee House are carefully reproduced.

The garden through the arches

The loggia opens onto the terrace and formal garden with clipped hedges and statues.

Analysis

Composition and technique

A precisely rendered pavilion interior and loggia crowded with two courts, the garden opening beyond.

Scholarship Panini, a specialist in grand architectural interiors and ceremonies, paints the Coffee House's decoration and proportions with topographic accuracy and populates it with a swarm of small, exact figures, so the picture is both an event record and a portrait of the building.

Carlo III di Borbone visiting the Pope Benedetto XIV in the coffee-house of the Quirinale, Rome

Coffee House of the Quirinale, Rome