Francis Frith

The Great Pylon at Edfou, Upper Egypt

The Great Pylon at Edfou, Upper Egypt Original gold toned albumin photograph, c. 1862 Unsigned as is usual From: Upper Egypt and Ethiopia, c. 1862, Vol 1, (36 plates) Published by Wi...

Piazza del Popolo con Obelisco Egizio Etching, 1752 Signed in the plate lower left (see photo) From: Della Magnificenze di Roma Antica e Moderna ( The Magnificense of Ancient and Modern Rome) , (1747-1761) Volume II, The Main Squares and Obelisks, columns and other ornaments, 1752, Plate No. 21 Della Magnificenze di Roma Antica e Moderna_ (1747-61), a collection of 238 plates that was published in ten volumes. Vasi recorded all types of architecture and organized these images of contemporary Rome by subject, with each volume representing a different category of architecture. This comprehensive project provides one of the most complete views of eighteenth-century Rome Condition: Excellent Image/Plate size: 8.25 x 12.63 inches Sheet size: 11 x 15 7/8 inches Vasi was Giovanni Battista Piranesi’s teacher. Piranesi (1720-1778) entered Vasi’s studio as an apprentice at age 20 c. 1740. Piranesi left Vasi’s employment after stabbing Vasi over the perception that Vasi was withholding secrets of the etching process. Giuseppe Vasi was an Italian engraver and painter born and trained in Sicily. He received a classical education in his hometown of Corleone and trained as a printmaker in nearby Palermo, perhaps under the tutelage of the etchers Antonino Bova and Francesco Cichè. He moved to Rome in 1736, already an established printmaker, and spent most of his career documenting the urban landscape of the city in engravings. Through his patron, the politically and culturally influential Cardinal Troiano Acquaviva d’Aragona, Vasi met other artists working in Rome, such as Sebastiano Conca, Ferdinando Fuga, and Luigi Vanvitelli. He was also influenced by his predecessors, including Giovanni Paolo Panini, Giovanni Battista Falda...