Giuseppe Agostino Vasi - Facciata del Palazzo Crivelli a Piazza Colonna

\Artist: Giuseppe Agostino Vasi
Technique: Etching\Signature: Plate signed
Original etching on copper matrix. In the plate, under the figured part, a dedication by the architect Paolo Posi to Cardinal Rezzonico, dated 20 September 1761, as well as an indication of the artists on the left. The work, of remarkable beauty and scenographic effect, was performed by a great Sicilian engraver active in Rome, known in particular for the Magnificenze series. The sheet in question is not part of an engraving suite, but is a work in its own right: it represents a view of Piazza Colonna in Rome, with the façade of Palazzo Crivelli decorated with sumptuous ephemeral pieces of late Baroque style. At the loggias and windows, lit by candles and adorned with drapes, various gentlemen lean out, while in the square many characters stop, partly on foot and partly in a carriage, watching the show; interesting is on the left, near the monumental Roman column, the description of a stage with an orchestra in the act of playing. The engraving style, less dramatic than that which characterizes Piranesi's contemporary views, is nevertheless full of vibrant chiaroscuro effects. Specimen in good state of conservation, with wide margins; limited marginal tear at the top, along the vertical fold track in the center; always at the edges, slight and sparse traces of oxidation.