Profil de la Ville de Rome

Very rare panorama of Rome taken from the Janiculum Hill, signed “Aveline fecit et excudit”, published in Paris by Etienne Charpentier.

The panoramic view of Rome is taken from the Janiculum Hill and depicts on the left the Vatican complex and Castel Sant'Angelo. At the center the dense urban fabric from which towers and domes emerge not always recognizable. The entire view is in fact conducted with very essential and immediate handwriting of not great visual impact (see Barbara Jatta in "Roma Veduta" p. 193). 

The view is attributed by Jatta to Antoine Aveline "the young". The Aveline family worked for over two centuries in the field of art and engraving; given the repetition of first names and the fact that they affixed the generic signature Aveline, there has often been confusion among the various members. 

The imprint Aveline fecit et excudit leads us to believe that the Charpentier edition is the second state (of three) of the plate, which was later reprinted also by Chereau.

Curious detail: the view does not include the Colosseum. In the lower margin, legend of 47 numbers.

Antoine Aveline (1691–1743) was a French engraver, son of Pierre Aveline and brother of Pierre-Alexandre Aveline. Aveline was born and worked all his life in Paris. He primarily worked with copperplate in his engraving.

Etienne Charpentier was an engraver, publisher and print merchant. He established himself on rue Saint-Germain l'Auxerrois, then rue Saint-Jacques au Coq (Paroisse Saint-Séverin), where he is reported from 1739. He was still alive in April 1792.

Etching with fine later hand colour, in very good condition.

Bibliografia

Arrigoni Bertarelli (1939): p. 20, n. 154; B. Jatta in "Roma Veduta", p. 193, n. 45; Marigiiani (2007), p. 262, n. 175.