\paperw4260 \margr0\margl0 \plain \fs20 \f1 In Rome, Giovanni Paolo Pannini came into contact with the circle of French artists and important patrons. Out of this came a series o
f pictures representing the grandeur and pomp of the great national festivals of France that were held in Rome around the middle of the eighteenth century.\par
One of these was the famous celebration that took place at the Teatro Argentina in Rome on Ju
ly 15, 1747, on the occasion of the second marriage of the Dauphin of France, Louis, son of Louis XV, to Marie-JosΦphe of Saxony.\par
Pannini depicts the moment in the festival when the assembled nobility was served with lavish refreshments, accompanied
by music and song.\par
At the center of the theater, thronged with people and richly adorned with red drapes, stands a large stage. Above it, the coat of arms of the French royal family is supported by two winged figures with trumpets, symbolizing Fame
. In the corners small putti hold the coats of arms of the Dauphin and his bride.\par
On the stage, the figures of the musicians, solo singers and choir are disposed, seated or standing, on clouds, underneath a fantastic pergola ornamented with caryatid
s, sphinxes and garlands and topped by a dome.\par
Below the stage two allegorical figures, the Tiber and the Seine, hold hands to symbolize the understanding between Rome and Paris, between the French Crown and the Holy See.
