The work fits perfectly into the broad catalogue of the Dutch artist, who was pivotal in inventing and developing the genre of veduta, or view painting, in the last quarter of the 17th century. 

This small painting shows the waterfall that existed on the Aniene prior to deviation of the river’s course after flooding in 1826 and a view of Tivoli with the bridge and the church of San Martino, the bell tower of the church of Santa Maria and the ruins of the ancient bridge, subsequently swept away in the flood of 1725. The initials of the renowned vedutista Gaspar van Wittel can be seen on the left together with the date 1723. 

The work fits perfectly into the broad catalogue of the Dutch artist, who was pivotal in inventing and developing the genre of veduta, or view painting, in the last quarter of the 17th century. Van Wittel took his first, fundamental steps in the topographically accurate depiction of landscape above all after his arrival in Rome from the Netherlands in 1674 and through his involvement, in 1676, in the ambitious project to make the Tiber navigable between the capital of the papal state and Perugia, launched by Pope Clement X. In this connection, he was commissioned to produce a series of drawings (now in the Biblioteca Corsini, cod. 1227) of the localities affected by the operations of the engineer, Cornelis Meyer. Over the years, he thus developed a precise modus operandi that enabled him to capture on canvas evocative landscapes, always seen from unusual viewpoints, on the basis of drawings from life.¹ 

Van Wittel’s great success is connected above all with his production of views of Rome and its surroundings (but also of Naples, Florence, Venice and Lake Maggiore), which were very popular and collected not only by the Italian aristocracy but also by the numerous travellers on the Grand Tour. For this reason, he was often obliged to produce copies of his most successful works, albeit without ever lowering his standards of execution or failing to introduce variations in the lively details of everyday life, which add to the charm of his compositions. 

The View of Tivoli with the Aniene Waterfall in the collection of Francesco Federico Cerruti provides a good example of this practice, as shown also by the faint outline of the squaring used in transposing the drawing onto canvas. There are in fact at least twelve copies of the same subject, which was highly esteemed for the perfect balance of elements of nature, architecture and everyday life, known above all through mentions in the inventories of illustrious collections such as those of the Duke of Medinaceli, Cardinal Girolamo and Filippo II Colonna, Cardinal Albani, Livio Odescalchi and the French consul Michel-Ange de la Chausse.² The Rivoli copy was sold on two different occasions by the Galleria Colnaghi,³ whose catalogues mention the presence of a now unfortunately unidentifiable inscription on the back attesting to previous ownership by Cardinal Valenti Gonzaga. 

Simone Mattiello

¹ Rome 2013.

² L. Trezzani, in Rome-Venice 2002-03, pp. 150-151, cat. 39.

³ London 1978, cat. 6; New York 1983, cat. 46.