511 - J. BOISSIEU (1736-1810), The Temple of Vesta in Tivoli, 1809, Etching

J. BOISSIEU (1736-1810), The Temple of Vesta in Tivoli, 1809, Etching Jean Jacques de Boissieu (1736 Lyon - 1810 ibid.): The Temple of Vesta in Tivoli Ideal landscape, 1809, Etching Technique: Etching on Paper Inscription: At the lower part inscribed in the printing plate: "Temple de la Sibylle Tiburtine à Tivoli. dessine et gravé à l'eau forte par J. J. De Boissieu 1809 à l'age de 73 ans.". Date: 1809 Description: The round Vesta Temple in Tivoli was already considered the epitome of antique harmony and architecture by classical travellers to Rome. By the middle of the 18th century at the latest, it was therefore one of the most famous ancient temples in the learned world. Not least due to its spectacular location on a rocky spur above a 120 metre waterfall, the temple became an important pilgrimage site for architects, artists and poets alike for decades. Boissieu, who travelled to Italy in the 1760s, aptly sketched the scenery around the famous circular temple. Surrounded by people measuring the columns with their hands or eyes and gazing in amazement at the completed capitals, the temple becomes the centre of attention of the entire composition. Even further away from the building, artists can be recognised who have taken out their drawing boards and are observing and sketching from various angles. It is hardly noticeable that Boissieu has transformed the actual topography of the site, with its rugged, steeply sloping rock face, into a tranquil river landscape with a waterfall cascading over a comparatively tame cliff edge. Together with the soft, warmly glowing stroke of the etching, this idyllic image of the artists around the famous ruin unites to form a lifelike ideal landscape in the Campagna Romana. Keywords: Temple, Tivoli, waterfall, cascade, ruin, graphic, etching, Italy, landscape, antiquity, idyll, longing for Italy, 19th century, Romanticism, Landscape, Italy, Size: Paper: 40,9 cm x 55,0 cm (16,1 x 21,7 in), Plate: 31,5 cm x 41,0 cm (12,4 x 16,1 in), Depiction: 27,9 cm x 37,4 cm (11 x 14,7 in) Condition: Rather good condition. The sheet is heavily discoloured due to its age and stained in places on the edge. A clear liquid stain at the bottom left. The corners of the sheet are slightly bumped and creased. Several marginal tears along the lower edge of the sheet, two longer ones fixed with adhesive tape on the reverse. Top centre margin tear also fixed. Some bumping along the edges in places. The image makes a good, occasionally somewhat pale impression.