FRANCIS NEWTON SOUZA (1924-2002)

Francis Newton Souza painted Rome, Church by Tiber in 1960, during the six months he spent in Rome on a scholarship from the Italian government. Souza’s time in Rome greatly influenced his practice, both in his choice of subject and in his painting style. This sumptuous scene presents the instantly recognizable view towards St Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City, seen across the Ponte Sant’Angelo which spans the River Tiber. Souza characteristically distorts the architecture, rendering the tower at a slight tilt amid the Catholic monuments and architecture that informed so much of his work in the genre of landscapes.

The series of twenty-seven paintings that the artist created during his time in Rome was exhibited at Gallery One following his return to London. The present lot, one of the strongest in the series, retains its Gallery One label, inscribed with the name of the collectors who purchased it after the exhibition. Together with the rest of this series of Roman cityscapes, the present lot offers an exquisite respite within the artist’s oeuvre of the period. As Souza entered the new decade, his work naturally evolved; however, the uniquely joyous palette and often smaller format of these works set them apart from those painted in his London studio. It is as if Souza was entirely intoxicated by the pomp and ceremony of the ancient city of Rome. Here, his vivid palette and effervescent use of yellow, orange and red make this painting glow like a fresco, almost singing in praise like a choir in one of the city’s many cathedrals.