Viviano Codazzi

Viviano Codazzi, born in Valsassina in 1604 and died in Rome in 1670, was a renowned Italian painter specialized in landscapes, architectural perspectives, and views with ancient ruins. Active mainly in Naples and Rome, Codazzi distinguished himself for his mastery in painting fanciful yet verisimilar architectures, often in collaboration with other artists who added the human figures. In Naples, he worked with Domenico Gargiulo, creating landscapes with ruins where he handled the architectural parts and natural backgrounds, while Gargiulo inserted the characters. After the Masaniello revolt in 1647, he moved permanently to Rome, collaborating with painters such as Antoine Gobau, Michelangelo Cerquozzi, Jan Miel, Filippo Lauri, and Vicente Giner, always providing the perspectival structures in collective paintings. His work deeply influenced later vedutism, including Canaletto and Bernardo Bellotto, as shown by his 1630 view of St. Peter's Basilica, one of the last images of the square without Bernini's colonnade and with the never-built bell towers.

Among Viviano Codazzi's most representative works stand out architectural views such as The Basilica of Constantine with the Colosseum and S. Francesca Romana, oil on canvas from 1653 signed with monogram VC, and pairs of architectural interiors like elegant imaginary palace loggias animated by characters, offered at auctions by Arcadia. An exceptional quadraturist painter, Codazzi rendered with sharp precision minor aspects of ancient cities, positioning himself as a precursor to 18th-century vedutism in the style of Canaletto or Gaspar van Wittel. In rare cases, like the Basilica of Constantine analyzed by Giancarlo Sestieri, he also executed the figurines in his own perspectives, an activity hypothesized by Roberto Longhi for works like the Tower of San Vincenzo in Naples. His son Niccolò Codazzi (1642-1693) followed in his footsteps as a painter of views and landscapes, even collaborating with his father in some creations.

Viviano Codazzi's works are today of great interest in the ancient art market, with high quotations in specialized auctions like those of Arcadia auction house, which features his works and followers in ancient paintings catalogs. His ability to blend fantasy and realism, illuminating breached arches, corroded walls, and ancient monuments with dramatic light, continues to captivate collectors and scholars of Italian Baroque art.