antique prints, maps and watercolors

James Merigot. (Arch of Pantini). Ruines de Rome. London 1796-98. Framed $495.00

click for detailed image Merigot Arch of Pantini framed.JPG

“Arch of Pantini”

James Merigot (1760–1824) was a French engraver and publisher who is known for an attractive album of 62 aquatinted plates designed and engraved by Marigot himself. Titled A Select Collection of Views and Ruins in Rome and its Vicinity. Recently executed from Drawings made upon the spot. The plates are dated 1796-1798 and are printed on watermarked laid paper with descriptive text in English and French. Many similar books were produced during the late 18th and early 19th centuries due to the rise of Neo-classicism among the British populace. This work was unique in its particular attention to the accurate depiction of the Roman ruins. Merigot visited each of the ruins and drew them in person, making this historically significant as an important record both of Ancient Rome and the state of Roman ruins at the turn of the 19th century. It also is a reminder of how the city would have looked at the height of the Romantic era when Rome embodied many Romantic ideals, not least the traces of a vanished civilization.

"This arch, with the walls which belong to it, is part of the ruins of the forum of Nerva, and derives its resent name from the marshy situation in which it is placed; the columns seen behind it were part of the temple erected by the Senate in honour of Nerva, they are fluted, of the corinthian order, and remarkably elegant: the walls of the arch are constructed of very massy stones rudely put together without mortar. These valuable fragments possess that character of solidity and magnificence which are so conspicuous in the works of the ancients."

Uncolored sepia toned aquatint engraving.
Archivally framed 16 5/8 x 19 ¼ inches outside dimensions.
Excellent condition.