View, Italy, Rome, Giovanni Battista Falda, Fountains and Piazzas, Antique Prints, 17th Century

Two examples shown, others available as follows — contact us for images:

Fontana De Draghi Detta La Girandola Sotto Il Vialone Delle Fontanelle [Fountain of Dragons Called The Windmill Beneath the Great Boulevard of the Street Fountains]

Fontana Di Bacco In Una Stanza Contigua Al Fontanone Nel Piano Delle Fontanelle [Fountain of Bacchus in a Room Adjoining the Great Fountain in the Design of the Street Fountains]

Veduta D’Una Parte Delle Fontanelle Nel Vialone Sopra La Fontana De Draghi [View of One Part of the Street Fountains in the Great Boulevard Above the Fountain of Dragons]

Veduta In Profilo Del Palazzo Nel Giardino Estense In Tivoli [Side View of the Palace in the Este Garden in Tivoli]

Altra Veduta Principale In Profilo Del Vialone Grande Detto Delle Fontanelle Nel Giardino Estense In Tivoli [Other Principal Side View of the Great Boulevard Called the Street Fountains in the Este Garden in Tivoli]

Veduta Delle Peschiere E’Giuochi D’Acqua Nel Piano Del Giardino [View of the Peschiere and Giuochi of Water in the Design of the Garden]

Fontana Della Sibilla Tiburtina, Overo Albunea Detta Il Fontanone Con Le Statue Della Sibilla E Fiumi Erculane Et Aniene Dal Lato Destro Del Vialone Delle Fontanelle [Fountain of the Tiburtine Sibyl, Overo Albunea Called the Great Fountain with the Statues of the Sybil and the Erculane and Aniene Rivers from the Right Side of the Great Boulevard of the Street Fountains]

Fontana Di Venere In Una Delle Cammere Ultime Del Palazzo [Fountain of Venus in One of the Last Rooms of the Palace]

Giovanni Battista Falda was an Italian draftsman and printmaker. He is best known for his architectural views, which introduced an influential realist style into Roman printmaking and helped make Rome a major center for architectural prints. From at least 1655, he produced views of the buildings, gardens and fountains of Rome, detailed plans of the city and ceremonial events. Many of his works celebrated Pope Alexander VII’s role in the renovation of Rome. His most famous works are Nuovo Teatro (1665-69), Giardini di Roma (1670) and Fontane di Roma (1675).

Giovanni Venturini was an Italian printmaker. He studied with Giovan Battista Galestruzzi, from whom he learned a style that was analytical yet picturesque, and collaborated with him on a series of engravings after frescoes by Polidoro da Caravaggio. He was later influenced by Giovanni Battista Falda’s more realistic style. His best known works are the views of Rome that he contributed to the series of engravings begun by Falda and published by Giovanni Giacomo de’ Rossi — Fontane ne’ palazzi e ne’ giardini di Roma [Fountains in the Palaces and Gardens of Rome] and Fontane nel giardino estense in Tivoli [Fountains of the Este Garden in Tivola] — and to Insignium Romae Templorum Prospectus (1684) and Disegni di vasi, altari e cappelle nelle chiese di Roma (1690).

Giovanni Giacomo de’ Rossi (1627-1691) was the most influential publisher in Rome in the second half of the 17th century. In 1679, he adopted Domenico de’ Rossi and made him his heir. Domenico and Domenico’s heirs continued the firm until 1738, when they sold it to the Pope.

Condition: Generally very good with the usual light toning, wear, soft creases. Some minor chipping and short tears at margins.

References:

Berlin Katalog 3603

Cicognara 2863

“Giovanni Battista Falda.” The Grove Dictionary of Art. New York: Macmillan. 2000. Artnet.com. http://www.artnet.com/library/02/0274/T027427.asp (6 December 2004).

“Giovanni Francesco Venturini.” The Grove Dictionary of Art. New York: Macmillan. 2000. Artnet.com. http://www.artnet.com/library/08/0887/T088723.asp (6 December 2004).