Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 2

Unknown
Pompeian Style Tragedy Masks - Etching - 18th Century

Late 18th Century

About the Item

Pompeian Style Tragedy Masks from "Antiquities of Herculaneum" is an etching on paper realized by Various Authors in the 18th Century. Monogrammed on the plate. Good conditions with some folding. The etching belongs to the print suite “Antiquities of Herculaneum Exposed” (original title: “Le Antichità di Ercolano Esposte”), an eight-volume volume of engravings of the finds from the excavation of the ruins of Herculaneum in the Kingdom of Naples (now Campania, Italy). It was published between 1757 and 1792 by the Regia Stamperia, and copies were delivered to selected recipients across Europe. Despite the title, the Antiquity of Herculaneum shows objects from all the excavations undertaken by the Bourbons in the Gulf of Naples. These include Pompeii, Stabia and two sites of Herculaneum: Resina and Portici. The Bourbon King Carlo appointed fifteen scholars creating a new “Herculaneum Academy” to study the artifacts and publish the results of the archaeological excavations of the sites. The engravings are of high quality and the accompanying text shows a large scholarship. They were realized by 25 prominent artists involved by the King to prepare drawings and engravings on the finds, among which we can find Giovanni Elia Morghen, Carlo Nolli, Luigi Vanvitelli, and Giovanni Battista Casanova. The “Antiquities” was designed more to amaze readers with the quality of the objects in the collection of the King of Naples than to be used in research., following and increasing the interest of 18th-century society for the classical culture and Art in particular. Through the exaltation of the classical concept of proportions and harmony, the book was of inspiration to the neoclassical movement in Europe, giving artists and decorators access to a huge shop of Hellenistic motifs.
  • Creation Year:
    Late 18th Century
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 3.75 in (9.5 cm)Width: 6.3 in (16 cm)Depth: 0.04 in (1 mm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Framing:
    Framing Options Available
  • Condition:
    Insurance may be requested by customers as additional service, contact us for more information.
  • Gallery Location:
    Roma, IT
  • Reference Number:
    Seller: T-1370881stDibs: LU650311643272
More From This SellerView All
You May Also Like
  • Ruins of the Roman Baths of Belisarius: A 19th C. Etching by Luigi Rossini
    By Luigi Rossini
    Located in Alamo, CA
    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" (...
    Category

    1820s Old Masters Landscape Prints

    Materials

    Etching

  • Fabricius (Ponte Cestio) Bridge : Framed 18th C. Piranesi Architectural Etching
    By Giovanni Battista Piranesi
    Located in Alamo, CA
    This framed 18th century etching by Giovanni Battista Piranesi is entitled "Dimostransi nella Tav. presente la Pianta, ed Elevazione del Ponte, oggi detto Quattro Capi egli è antichissimo, e chiamavasi Fabrizio da L. Fabrizio Presid. delle Strade, che lo fabbrico' nel fine della Repubblica. "(The Plan and Elevation of the Bridge, today called Quattro Capi. The architect is very ancient, and was called Fabrizio da L. Fabrizio Presid. delle Strade, who built it at the end of the Republic). This is plate 18 in volume 4 of Piranesi's "Le antichita romane opera di Giambatista Piranesi architetto veneziano" (Roman antiquities by Giambatista Piranesi Venetian architect). It was published in Rome in 1756-1757. This etching depicts the plan and elevation of the bridge now called the Ponte dei Quattoro Capi or Ponte Cestio (Bridge of the Four Heads), which in antiquity was called the Bridge of Fabricius after L. Fabricius, the Superintendant of the Streets who built it at the end of the Republic, around 62 BC. It was also been known in the Middle Ages as ‘Ponte Giudeo’ (Bridge of the Jews). The bridge crossed from the left bank or northeast side of the Tiber River to Tiber Island...
    Category

    1750s Old Masters Landscape Prints

    Materials

    Etching

  • Christ and the Woman of Samaria Among Ruins by James Bretherton after Rembrandt
    By Rembrandt van Rijn
    Located in Middletown, NY
    Bretherton, James (After Rembrandt van Rijn). Christ and the Woman of Samaria Among Ruins. London: c 1775. Etching on light cream laid paper, 4 3/4...
    Category

    18th Century Old Masters Figurative Prints

    Materials

    Handmade Paper, Etching, Laid Paper

  • Paysage; Azle D'Aligre
    By Charles-Emile Jacque
    Located in Middletown, NY
    Etching on Chine collé mounted to cream wove paper, 3 5/8 x 5 1/8 (90 x 129 mm), full margins. With a pencil notation in the right margin on the recto (outside of image area), as we...
    Category

    Mid-19th Century Old Masters Landscape Prints

    Materials

    Handmade Paper, Etching

  • L'automne, by Franz Edmond Weirotter, after van Goyen
    By Jan Josefsz Van Goyen
    Located in Middletown, NY
    Etching and engraving on cream laid paper, 11 3/4 x 8 1/8 inches (297 x 205 mm), margins trimmed. Scattered light surface soiling, minor loose handling creases, rubbed edges, and sma...
    Category

    Mid-18th Century Old Masters Landscape Prints

    Materials

    Etching, Handmade Paper, Laid Paper, Engraving

  • The little waterfall (Der kleine wasserfall), from Four Landscapes.
    By Herman van Swanevelt
    Located in Middletown, NY
    Etching with engraving on cream laid paper, 7 x 10 3/4 inches (184 x 273 mm), thin margins. Printing anomaly in the lower left quadrant with associated fold. Scattered handling wear...
    Category

    Early 17th Century Old Masters Landscape Prints

    Materials

    Laid Paper, Engraving, Etching

Recently Viewed

View All