Veduta degli Avanzi del Teatro di Marcello, in oggi Palazzo Orsini
| Reference: | S45834 |
| Author | Agostino PENNA |
| Year: | 1828 |
| Zone: | Teatro Marcello |
| Measures: | 570 x 445 mm |
€900.00
| Reference: | S45834 |
| Author | Agostino PENNA |
| Year: | 1828 |
| Zone: | Teatro Marcello |
| Measures: | 570 x 445 mm |
€900.00
Description
Etching, 1828, signed and dated on lower plate.
It belongs to the very rare series Vedute pittoriche de' monumenti antichi e moderni di Roma, published from 1827 until 1830.
Agostino Penna (1807-1881), although he cannot be ascribed among the leading figures of the Roman art scene of the first half of the 19th century-particularly in the field of vedutismo, over which the figure of Luigi Rossini dominates almost unchallenged-his grafic work, on the whole quantitatively rather meager, nevertheless presents elements of undoubted originality. Penna was, above all, a full participant in the climate of renewal of archaeological studies in the Rome of Carlo Fea and Antonio Nibby, coinciding with the many excavations and restorations of antiquities in the 1920s and 1930s.
The series of prints Vedute pittoriche de' monumenti antichi e moderni di Roma saw the light of day thanks to the subscription of a group of associates whose names are unfortunately unknown, but which must have included affermati artists as well: of every single issue the "Diario di Roma" gives punctual feedback (in only two cases do the announcements appear in the contemporary "Notizie del giorno"), an exceptional fact, since Penna figures as the only engraver whose production is given such wide prominence and with such frequency by the Roman periodical.
Inevitable is the comparison with the contemporary images of Rome that the prolific Luigi Rossini continued to publish concrescently successful. Penna seems to want to create for himself an original style and construction of the view, seeking novel viewpoints and cuts to distinguish his grafic work from that of the Ravenna architect.
“Gli Avanzi del Teatro di Marcello sono ripresi, come si può notare, da un punto di vista del tutto inedito “che per la prima volta si scelse l’incisore per dipartirsi dal comune”. Piranesi e Rossini avevano rappresentato il monumento, come tradizione, dando le spalle al Campidoglio ed inserendovi sulla destra la piazza Montanara, tanto cara a Goethe, con le sue scene di vita popolare, e la via di Pescaria verso il Portico d’Ottavia: l’intento di distinguersi per originalità da quegli illustri precedenti, lo spinge a inquadrare il Teatro di Marcello spostando il punto di vista di 90° verso nord, eliminando la piazza. La distorsione prospettica gli consente di dispiegare per intero il monumento secondo una prassi che si ritrova anche in alcune stampe piranesiane ed in particolare in quella grandangolare dell’Anfiteatro Flavio, detto il Colosseo, inclusa nella raccolta delle Vedute di Roma. Confrontando il disegno di Penna con le immagini del Teatro di Marcello proposte da Angelo Uggeri e, appunto, da Rossini, entrambe riprese dal medesimo luogo e nelle medesime ore del giorno, si evidenzia come il taglio dell’inquadratura e il punto di vista, molto ravvicinato, riescano a portare con forza in superficie la scabrosità dei blocchi di travertino dei fornici, illuminati da una luce priva di quei filtri atmosferici presenti nelle stampe precedenti” (cfr. Racioppi, Disegni di vedute e antichità di Roma di Agostino Penna (1807-1881) incisore e archeologo romano, pp. 294-295).
Beautiful proof, printed on contemporary paper, in very good condition. Very rare work.
Bibliografia
Pier Paolo Racioppi, Disegni di vedute e antichità di Roma di Agostino Penna (1807-1881) incisore e archeologo romano, in "Studi sul Settecento Romano", 31, 2015, a cura di E. Debenedetti.
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Penna was born in Rome on December 21, 1807, and lived, fintil he was over 30, in the church of Santa Maria Maggiore, in an apartment on Via di San Paolo Primo Eremita, together with his father, who had been widowed, and his three younger brothers Luigi, Stefano, and Camillo. He likely had to learn the art of engraving from his father, who does not appear to have had his own studio separate from the dwelling; the latter was, however, located near the Quattro Fontane, not far from Piazza Barberini, an area with a notable concentration of artists' and sculptors' studios, a destination for tourists in search of works to buy, such as statues, paintings, prints and souvenirs.
There is no information on how and where Penna had learned the principles of drawing, and in particular architectural drawing, but it is a fact that, not yet 20 years old, he came into the limelight with a series of small-format views devoted to Roman antiquities, under the title Raccolta di dodici Vedute antiche di Roma disegnate ed incise alla pittorica da Agostino Penna in the year 1827 on commission from the Calcografia Camerale.
Also in 1827 Penna began to produce a series of engravings, in a larger format this time, with views of ancient and modern Rome, very well publicized by the "Diario di Roma": the work was undertaken by subscription with the contribution of a "copious number of the principal artists who associated themselves." The years between the third and fourth decades of the nineteenth century were undoubtedly the most prolific, and his name appears on several occasions in the lists of professional businesses under the heading Copperplate Engravers; Penna's studio appears to have been located initially at Via delle Quattro Fontane 49 and later at Via dei Chiavari, where he resided.
From the 1840s his activity as an engraver seems to begin to thin out, probably limiting himself only to the translation into print of others' inventions, as in the case of the large engraving of the Panorama of Rome (1846) based on a drawing by Wilhelm Friedrich Gmelin(1760-1820) begun to be engraved by Wilhelm Noack (1800-1833) around 1830 but left unfinished. He had to begin from this time onwards to engage almost exclusively in the business of a print dealer and corresponding agent for the sale of foreign periodicals. Penna died on November 7, 1881, and the funeral was officiato in the church of his parish, San Carlo ai Catinari: in the parish book of deceased he is recorded as "Penna Don Augustinus Romanus," a sign that the elderly artist must have enjoyed a considerable reputation at the time.
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Penna was born in Rome on December 21, 1807, and lived, fintil he was over 30, in the church of Santa Maria Maggiore, in an apartment on Via di San Paolo Primo Eremita, together with his father, who had been widowed, and his three younger brothers Luigi, Stefano, and Camillo. He likely had to learn the art of engraving from his father, who does not appear to have had his own studio separate from the dwelling; the latter was, however, located near the Quattro Fontane, not far from Piazza Barberini, an area with a notable concentration of artists' and sculptors' studios, a destination for tourists in search of works to buy, such as statues, paintings, prints and souvenirs.
There is no information on how and where Penna had learned the principles of drawing, and in particular architectural drawing, but it is a fact that, not yet 20 years old, he came into the limelight with a series of small-format views devoted to Roman antiquities, under the title Raccolta di dodici Vedute antiche di Roma disegnate ed incise alla pittorica da Agostino Penna in the year 1827 on commission from the Calcografia Camerale.
Also in 1827 Penna began to produce a series of engravings, in a larger format this time, with views of ancient and modern Rome, very well publicized by the "Diario di Roma": the work was undertaken by subscription with the contribution of a "copious number of the principal artists who associated themselves." The years between the third and fourth decades of the nineteenth century were undoubtedly the most prolific, and his name appears on several occasions in the lists of professional businesses under the heading Copperplate Engravers; Penna's studio appears to have been located initially at Via delle Quattro Fontane 49 and later at Via dei Chiavari, where he resided.
From the 1840s his activity as an engraver seems to begin to thin out, probably limiting himself only to the translation into print of others' inventions, as in the case of the large engraving of the Panorama of Rome (1846) based on a drawing by Wilhelm Friedrich Gmelin(1760-1820) begun to be engraved by Wilhelm Noack (1800-1833) around 1830 but left unfinished. He had to begin from this time onwards to engage almost exclusively in the business of a print dealer and corresponding agent for the sale of foreign periodicals. Penna died on November 7, 1881, and the funeral was officiato in the church of his parish, San Carlo ai Catinari: in the parish book of deceased he is recorded as "Penna Don Augustinus Romanus," a sign that the elderly artist must have enjoyed a considerable reputation at the time.
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