Panini

Panini , fl. c.400 BC, Indian grammarian. His Ashtādhyāyī [eight books] (tr. 1891) is one of the earliest works of descriptive linguistics and is also the first individually authored treatise on Sanskrit. Each of its 3,995 rules governing roots and suffixes is introduced in a sutra, a concise aphorism. The Ashtādhyāyī also contains historical, social, and geographical information. It is still used in the Brahmanic schools in India.

Bibliography: See his Ashtādhyāyī, ed. by S. C. Vasu (tr. 1962); studies by T. Goldstuecher (1860, repr. 1965) and V. Misra (1966).

Panini (or Pannini), Giovanni Paolo (or Gianpaolo) (1691–1765). Italian painter. He was born in Piacenza, where he trained as a quadraturista and stage designer. In 1711 he settled in Rome, where he became the pre-eminent painter of real and imaginary views of the city. He was the first painter to make a special feature of ruins—an aspect of his work that links him with Hubert Robert and Piranesi—and he also did paintings of public festivities and events of historical importance. Panini taught perspective at the French Academy in Rome and his influence was strong with French as well as Italian artists. He was a prolific painter and many galleries have examples of his work.

Panini, Giovanni Paolo (or Giovanni Paolo Pannini) (or Gianpaolo Panini) (b Piacenza, 17 June 1691; d Rome, 21 Oct. 1765). Italian painter. He trained as a quadraturista and stage designer in Piacenza, then in 1711 settled in Rome, where he became the pre-eminent painter of real and imaginary views of the city. He was the first painter to make a special feature of ruins—an aspect of his work that links him with Hubert Robert and Piranesi—and he also did paintings of public festivities and events of historical importance. Panini taught perspective at the French Academy in Rome and his influence was strong with French as well as Italian artists. He was a prolific painter and many galleries have examples of his work.