Veduta, e Prospetto del Gran Teatro dell'Acque della Villa Aldobrandina di Belvedere a Frascati
| Reference: | S48615 |
| Author | Giovanni Battista FALDA |
| Year: | 1680 ca. |
| Zone: | Frascati |
| Printed: | Rome |
| Measures: | 395 x 247 mm |
€180.00
| Reference: | S48615 |
| Author | Giovanni Battista FALDA |
| Year: | 1680 ca. |
| Zone: | Frascati |
| Printed: | Rome |
| Measures: | 395 x 247 mm |
€180.00
Description
Plate from the series Le Fontane di Roma, published by Giovanni Giacomo de Rossi alla Pace, undated but before 1680.
Falda, who died in Rome in 1678, engraved the plates of the first and second volume, entitled respectively Le Fontane di Roma nelle Piazze, e luoghi publici della città and Le fontane delle ville di Frascati, nel Tusculano. The plates of the third and fourth volume, Le fontane ne' palazzi e ne' giardini di Roma and Le fontane del giardino Estense in Tivoli, were instead engraved by Giovanni Francesco Venturini.
Falda, a native of Valduggia, at the age of 14 was sent to Rome and entrusted to the care of an uncle who pointed him out to Gian Lorenz Bernini. But it was the meeting with the printer Giovanni Giacomo De Rossi that marked a turning point in Falda's artistic career: in fact his talent was directed by the publisher to the art of engraving. His apprenticeship in the Roman printing house was well received at the papal court, so that Alexander VII entrusted him with the task of designing the buildings of the residence of Castel Gandolfo. In 1665 Falda printed for the publisher De Rossi his masterpiece: the tables of the first book of the Nuovo Teatro delle fabbriche, et edificii, in prospettiva di Roma moderna sotto il felice pontificato di n. s. Alessandro VII, which was followed, between 1665 and '69, by the second and third books. The work was intended to spread the new image of Rome: the Pope, in fact, decided to open new streets, to embellish the city with fountains and monuments, also to demonstrate the financial and cultural power of his family. With the Nuovo Teatro, as with the subsequent collections dedicated to fountains and palaces, Falda became the popularizer of these aspects. His etched views, characterized by attention to both the rules of perspective and the scenographic effects, skillfully exploit the vigor of the line and the richness of the contrast between black and white, in tune with the spatial criteria of Baroque art.
Etching, printed on contemporary laid paper, in excellent condition.
Bibliografia
The Illustrated Bartsch, vol. 47/2, pp.4-28. Olschki, Choix, XI, 16899; Rossetti 4830.
Giovanni Battista FALDA (Valduggia, Novara, 1643; Rome, 1678)
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Giovan Battista Falda, a native of Valduggia, was sent to Rome at the age of 14 and entrusted to the care of an uncle who pointed him out to Gian Lorenzo Bernini. But it was his meeting with printer Gian Giacomo De Rossi that marked a turning point in Falda's artistic career: in fact, his talent was directed by the publisher to the art of engraving. In De Rossi's workshop he could also appreciate the work of great engravers such as J. Callot, S. Della Bella and I. Silvestre; having completed his apprenticeship, he was benevolently received at the papal court, so much so that Alexander VII commissioned him to design the factories of the Castel Gandolfo residence. In 1665, Falda gave to the presses for the publisher De Rossi his masterpiece: the plates of the first book of the Nuovo Teatro delle fabbriche, et edificii, in prospettiva di Roma moderna sotto il felice pontificato di n. s. Alessandro VII, which was followed, between 1665 and '69, by the second and third. The work was intended to popularize the new image of Rome: the Pope, in fact, decided to open new streets, to embellish the city with fountains and monuments, also as a demonstration of the financial and cultural power of his family. With the Nuovo Teatro, as with the later collections devoted to fountains and palaces, Falda became the popularizer of these aspects; his engraved views, characterized by attention to both perspective rules and scenographic effects, skillfully exploit the vigor of line and the richness of the contrast between black and white, in keeping with the spatial criteria of Baroque art. The specifically popular and commercial aspect of the engraved views was skillfully exploited by the publisher De Rossi, who established an inseparable and effective partnership with Falda, to whom much of the printed production of the century in Rome was owed, with a fortune comparable only to that which would be paid to the work of Giovan Battista Piranesi. Falda's activity was tireless despite the brevity of the time span in which he worked (he died at the age of 35 on August 22, 1678 and was buried in S. Maria della Scala in Trastevere). By the end of his life he had engraved about 300 plates: many of these are preserved in Rome at the Calcografia nazionale.
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Giovanni Battista FALDA (Valduggia, Novara, 1643; Rome, 1678)
|
Giovan Battista Falda, a native of Valduggia, was sent to Rome at the age of 14 and entrusted to the care of an uncle who pointed him out to Gian Lorenzo Bernini. But it was his meeting with printer Gian Giacomo De Rossi that marked a turning point in Falda's artistic career: in fact, his talent was directed by the publisher to the art of engraving. In De Rossi's workshop he could also appreciate the work of great engravers such as J. Callot, S. Della Bella and I. Silvestre; having completed his apprenticeship, he was benevolently received at the papal court, so much so that Alexander VII commissioned him to design the factories of the Castel Gandolfo residence. In 1665, Falda gave to the presses for the publisher De Rossi his masterpiece: the plates of the first book of the Nuovo Teatro delle fabbriche, et edificii, in prospettiva di Roma moderna sotto il felice pontificato di n. s. Alessandro VII, which was followed, between 1665 and '69, by the second and third. The work was intended to popularize the new image of Rome: the Pope, in fact, decided to open new streets, to embellish the city with fountains and monuments, also as a demonstration of the financial and cultural power of his family. With the Nuovo Teatro, as with the later collections devoted to fountains and palaces, Falda became the popularizer of these aspects; his engraved views, characterized by attention to both perspective rules and scenographic effects, skillfully exploit the vigor of line and the richness of the contrast between black and white, in keeping with the spatial criteria of Baroque art. The specifically popular and commercial aspect of the engraved views was skillfully exploited by the publisher De Rossi, who established an inseparable and effective partnership with Falda, to whom much of the printed production of the century in Rome was owed, with a fortune comparable only to that which would be paid to the work of Giovan Battista Piranesi. Falda's activity was tireless despite the brevity of the time span in which he worked (he died at the age of 35 on August 22, 1678 and was buried in S. Maria della Scala in Trastevere). By the end of his life he had engraved about 300 plates: many of these are preserved in Rome at the Calcografia nazionale.
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