James Merigot. (Fountain of the Nymph Egeria). Ruines de Rome. London 1796-98. $195.00

"Fountain of the Nymph Egeria"

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 19^th 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.

"In the neighborhood of this fountain stood the grove and temple of the Muses; the place yet excited some degree of veneration: there are niches on each side, in which were the statues of the nine Muses. The waters of the fountain escape from all parts in the midst of torsos and fragments of columns, which doubtless once adorned the temple of the Muses."

Uncolored sepia toned aquatint engraving.
9.5 x 12 inches sheet size.
Excellent condition.