View of the Villa Medici
Seventeenth-century printmakers responded to the interest in ancient art and architecture, as well as contemporary topography, by creating elaborate series on all the splendors of Rome. In the latter part of the century, their publications included etchings such as this one by Giovanni Battista Falda. Such works, eagerly collected throughout Europe, stimulated the Grand Tour to Italy to study Roman art and architecture. The garden surrounding the Villa Medici on the Pincian Hill, a glimpse of which is seen here, was highly regarded for its grand central fountain and phenomenal collection of statues from classical antiquity. The window openings cut into the hedges, visible on the lower right of the etching, offered a magnificent view of the rooftops of Rome, with the dome of Saint Peter's visible at mid-distance.
Artwork Details
- Title: View of the Villa Medici
- Artist: Giovanni Battista Falda (Italian, Valduggia 1643–1678 Rome)
- Publisher: Giovanni Giacomo De Rossi (Italian, Rome 1627–1691 Rome)
- Date: after 1677
- Medium: Etching
- Dimensions: Plate: 9 1/8 × 16 7/8 in. (23.2 × 42.8 cm)
Book: 15 7/16 × 19 7/16 × 11/16 in. (39.2 × 49.4 × 1.7 cm) - Classification: Prints
- Credit Line: The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1961
- Object Number: 61.532.26(7)
- Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints
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