Bernard Picart

Le Chaos, from "Le Temple des Muses" - Original Etching by B. Picart

1742

This large framed 18th century etching by Giovanni Battista Piranesi entitled "Veduta della Basilica di S. Lorenzo fuor della mura" (Basilica of San Lorenzo Outside the Walls), published in Rome in 1750 in Piranesi's Vedute di Roma (Views of Rome), This etching depicts the Basilica of San Lorenzo Outside the Walls, which is a Roman Catholic papal basilica and parish church, located in Rome, Italy. The Basilica is one of the Seven Pilgrim Churches of Rome and one of the five "papal basilicas". It was built as a shrine to the martyred Roman deacon St. Lawrence. This Piranesi etching is held by many museums and institutions, including: The Metropolitan Museum, The British Museum, The National Gallery of Art, The Yale University Art Gallery, and The Harvard Museum of Art. This magnificent etching is presented in a brown-colored wood frame and a tan French...

This early 19th century etching entitled "Veduta degl' Avanzi delle Torri di Belisario Dalla parte che guarda l' Interno della Città, vicino a Porta S. Giovanni, A. Mura Aureliane" (...

"Crucifixion" is an etching and aquatint, printed in brown ink by Conrad M. Metz after a painting by Daniele da Volterra. It was published in London in 1789 in 'Imitations Of Ancient...

The two plates in this set were created utilizing both engraving and etching techniques by William Hogarth in 1753, originally as illustrations of his book on aesthetics, entitled "Analysis of Beauty". Due to their popularity, these plates were later published separately. The publication line in the lower right reads: "Designed, Engraved, and Publish'd by Wm. Hogarth, March 5th 1753, according to Act of Parliament." Hogarth's original copper plates were refurbished where needed by James Heath and engravings were republished in London in 1822 by Braddock, Cradock & Joy. This was the last time Hogarth's copper plates were used for printing. Most were melted during World War I for the construction of bombs. These large folio sized "Analysis of Beauty" engravings are presented in antiqued gold-colored frames with double mats; the outer silk mats are light brown-colored and the inner mats are dark brown. Each frame measures 27.38" x 31.25" x 1.13". There is one tiny spot in the right margin of plate 1 and another in the lower margin; the latter could be from the printing process. The prints are otherwise in excellent condition. The "Analysis of Beauty" series is in the collection of many major museums, including: The British Museum, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Tate Museum, The Chicago Art Institute and The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. The first engraving (Plate 1) depicts a courtyard of statues which is filled with some of the most famous works of classical sculpture. The most important sculptures are surrounded by less impressive works. The Medicean Venus (#13) is in the center with a statue of Julius Caesar (#19) to the right, elevated on a pulley with a short, overdressed Brutus stands over the falling Caesar. The Apollo Belvedere (#12) is next. A judge stands to the right with his foot on a cherub (#16). Another crying cherub holds a gallows and wipes his tears with the judge's robe. A sphinx (#21) and the drunken Silenus (#107) are below the Venus. Michaelangelo's torso (#54) and a statue of Antonius (#6) are seen in the foreground. The Farnese Hercules (#3) and a bust of another Hercules (#4) under two statuettes of Isis are also included in the scene. The key to these objects is included in the form of a serpentine line winding around a cone (#26), Hogarth's "Line of Beauty". For Hogarth the winding line is an essential element of beauty in art. Hogarth's theory of beauty is communicated in this plate. Plate 2 is thought to represent the Wanstead Assembly, with the Earl of Tynley and his household. It is an adaptation of a scene in the Happy Marriage series, which complements Hogarth's Marriage à la Mode...

A. Tigna Protensa Super Media Epistylia, B. Praecisiones Tigorum Quaqua Versus Extrinsectus Apparentium, C. Opae Extremitates Tigorum Contintes, Fig. I, plate 88 from "Vasi, Candelab...

"A sua Eccellenza il Signor Henry Hope Cav. Scozzese Amatore delle Belle Arti from "Vasi, Candelabri, Cippi, Sarcofagi, Tripodi, Lucerne, Ed Ornamenti Antichi", (Vases, candelabra, grave stones, sarcophagi, tripods, lamps, and ancient ornaments) is an etching by Giovanni Battista Piranesi, published in 1778. It depicts stone caryatids...

This early 19th century etching entitled "Veduta dello scavo del Foro Trajano" was created by Luigi Rossini and included in his publication "Le Antichita Romane" (The Rome of Antiquity), published in Rome in 1823. It depicts the historical victory column of Trajan standing amidst the rubble of broken columns that remain around it. The etching is presented in a black wood frame with a light brown outer mat and a dark brown inner mat. There are several frame abrasions. The print and mats are in very good condition. The frame measures 27" high, 29.07" wide and 0.5" deep. The print is framed and matted in the identical style as the another etching of an ancient Roman landmark, the Piazza Navona, which is also listed on 1stdibs, see item # LU117326144172. The pair would make an attractive display grouping of Roman architecture. A discount is available for purchase of the pair of prints. Luigi Rossini (1790-1857) like his predecessors, Giovanni Piranesi (1720–1778) and Giuseppi Vasi (1710-1782), was an architect and artist. Like Piranesi and Vasi, he wanted to glorify the architecture of ancient Rome, which he felt was deteriorating and needed to be documented. Several of the ruins he illustrated have, in fact, since disappeared leaving only his images as a record of their appearance. His images of the grand edifices of the city dramatically depict the power and glory...

This early 19th century etching entitled "Veduta dei Grandi Avanzi delle Terme Antoniane, o di Caracalla" (The baths of Caracalla) was created by Luigi Rossini and included in his pu...

This early 19th century etching entitled "Veduta di Piazza Navona sopra le rovine del Circo" was created by Jean Barbault (1718-1762) after a painting by...

This large 18th century etching by Giovanni Battista Piranesi is entitled "Vaso antico di Marmo adornato di eccellenti Sculture si nella parte anteriere che nell' opposta, le quail r...