Architectural view

Etching, 1700 circa, unlettered. After a drawing by Ferdinando Galli Bibiena.

Magnificent example, rich in shades and well contrasted, printed on contemporary watermarked laid paper (circle surmounted by trefoil), trimmed at the marginal line, overall in excellent condition. 

From the series:  Varie opere di Prospettiua inventate da Ferdinando Galli d:o il Bibiena Bolognese Pittore, et Architetto dell A: SS.ma del Sig:re Duca di Parma Raccolte da Pietro Abbati, et intagliate da Carlo Antonio Buffagnotti. ‘Le diede in Luce, e Stampò Giacomo Camillo Mercati in Bologna’ 1701.

The Varie opere di Prospettiua is a collection of 72 mostly large-format plates documenting Ferdinando Galli Bibiena’s early activity as a designer of theatrical scenery and ephemeral architecture. It was assembled by Pietro Giovanni Abbati (fl. 1683-1745), a pupil of Ferdinando Bibiena during his tenure as “Pittore di Corte” to the Farnese Dukes of Parma, in collaboration with Carlo Antonio Buffagnotti, an industrious printmaker from Bologna. An obscure printseller, Giacomo Pelegrino Longhi, was responsible for the reissue, which incorporates eleven prints of scenery designed by Bibiena and executed by Abbati for spectacles performed in Turin in 1699.

Bibliografia

M. Pigozzi, F. G.B.: varie opere di prospettiva. Traduzione e diffusione di modelli e tipologie in centri e periferie, in “Il barocco romano e l'Europa”, Atti del Corso internazionale di alta cultura (1987), a cura di M. Fagiolo - M.L. Madonna, Roma 1992, pp. 637-642.