Capriccio of Classical Architectural Fragments: Frontispiece to Cahier IV of the "Palaces and Houses of Rome" (Palais et Maisons de Rome)

This small but fine drawing in pen and ink with watercolor contains a pastiche of architectural fragments from Roman Antiquity. The fragments are not depicted as found, but have been carefully arranged by the draftsman who can be identified as the renowned artist and architect Charles Percier. Inspired by his time in Rome betweeen 1786 and 1791, it served as the model for one of the frontispieces of the publication "Palais et Maisons de Rome", which was published in Paris in 1798. This architectural publication was the first of many books issued by Percier in collaboration with his long-time colleague Pierre Fontaine. In their publications, the two artists advocated for a rebirth of French art and taste by offering existing models as well as their own designs as sources of inspiration for their peers and students. That the frontispieces in the "Palais et Maisons de Rome" formed a school of ornamental studies in their own right, was acknowledged by the authors in their introduction to the book: "We have extracted from several of the palaces...a choice of Antique and modern ornamental fragments, to bring to the eyes of artists, and students in particular." Several copies of the drawing (or the corresponding line engraving) show that Percier's frontispieces were indeed used as study material by (near) contemporaries. The delicate line work, sympathetic use of color, and nearly exact dimensions leave no doubt that the present drawing is Percier's original design for the frontispiece, however.