Archiospedale Apostolico di S. Spirito in Sassia
| Reference: | S35167 |
| Author | Giovanni Battista FALDA |
| Year: | 1665 ca. |
| Zone: | Santo Spirito in Sassia |
| Printed: | Rome |
| Measures: | 290 x 170 mm |
€150.00
| Reference: | S35167 |
| Author | Giovanni Battista FALDA |
| Year: | 1665 ca. |
| Zone: | Santo Spirito in Sassia |
| Printed: | Rome |
| Measures: | 290 x 170 mm |
€150.00
Description
The etching shows the hospital of S. Spirito with the new portal and the the Braccio vecchio (old ward) restored by Bernini.
Example in the first state, before the number, taken from Il nuovo teatro delle fabriche, et edificii, in prospettiva di Roma moderna, sotto il felice pontificato di N. S. papa Alessandro VII.
One of the most important architectural projects of the seventeenth century was the urban renovation of Rome. Under the brilliant leadership of Pope Alessandro VII (1655-1667), Rome dramatically emerged as one of the most modern and beautiful cities of the new Baroque age. Within several decades spacious roadways were constructed, monumental buildings arose, and many public squares appeared with elaborate fountains and monuments. To be sure, this massive undertaking was meant to underline the absolute power of the Papacy but it also brought forth a new flowering of Italian art and architecture.
The Nuovo Teatro was initiated in 1665 to depict the new Rome in a series of etchings. What it gave to future generations was a magnificent historical record of views etched by two of Italy's greatest architectural artists.
The printing and publishing of these important etchings was entrusted to Giacomo de Rossi (1626-1691), the head of the most dominant Roman publishing house. ( Sons and nephews of de Rossi, in fact, continued the publishing house until 1738 when the business was sold to Pope Clement XII to form the basis of the Regia Calcografia.)
Altogether, four sets of Nuovo Teatro were created during the seventeenth century. Volumes one and two were both published in the year of 1665 and dealt mainly in views of the new piazzas, gardens, terraces and their surrounding buildings. Volume 3 was published in 1669 and concentrated upon the newly constructed churches of Rome. Every plate from the first three sets was both designed and etched by the influential architectural artist, Giovanni Battista Falda (1643-1678).
For reasons unknown the fourth and final volume Il quarto libro del nuovo teatro delli palazzi in prospettiva di Roma moderna dato in luce sotto il felice pontificato di nostro signore papa Innocenzo XII, (52 etchings) did not appear until 1699. It was published by Giacomo's successor, Domenico de Rossi, and featured views of the palaces and stately homes of Rome. Each plate was designed and etched by the famous architect and etcher, Alessandro Specchi (1668-1729).
Etching, printed on contemporary laid paper, with margins, in good condition.
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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