Giovanni Paolo Pannini

Giovanni Paolo Pannini or Panini (Piacenza, June 17, 1691 – Rome, October 21, 1765) was an Italian painter and architect.

As a young man Pannini trained at Piacenza as a stage designer. He moved to Rome in 1711 where he studied drawing with Benedetto Luti, and became famous as a decorator of palaces, including the Villa Patrizi (1718–1725) and the Palazzo de Carolis (1720) As a painter, Pannini is best known for his vistas of Rome; he took a particular interest in the city's antiquities. Among his most famous works are the interior of the Pantheon, and his vedute — paintings of picture galleries containing views of Rome.In 1719 Pannini was admitted to the Congregazione dei Virtuosi al Pantheon. He taught in Rome at the Accademia di San Luca and the Académie de France where he influenced Jean-Honoré Fragonard.