GRANET, François-Marius
(b. 1775, Aix-en-Provence, d. 1849, Aix-en-Provence)

Interior of the Choir in the Capuchin Church on the Plazza Barberini in Rome

1818
Oil on canvas, 175 x 127 cm
The Hermitage, St. Petersburg

This painting, which Granet first created in 1815, became so popular that he produced some 15 replicas, the first of which he presented to Russian Emperor Alexander I during his visit to Paris. The subject, customary already in the eighteenth century, enabled the artist to demonstrate the virtuosity in conveying light, which he had attained by intensive study of nature in Provence and Italy.