Charles Izard Manigault and His Family in Rome

Charles Izard Manigault and his wife Elizabeth Heyward resided in Rome as part of their extended Grand Tour. They decided to continue the Charleston tradition of having a family portrait painted while abroad and chose the Italian painter Ferdinando Cavalleri. The view chosen by Manigault emphasizes Papal Rome with the castle and bridge of St. Angelo and St. Peter’s in the middle left background. The other major element of the painting is the fountain on the loggia. This fountain is adapted from the base of Gian Lorenzo Bernini’s Triton Fountain in the Piazza Barbarini. The heavy gilt frame was made for the painting in Rome.