antique prints, maps and watercolors

James Merigot. ( Arch of St. Lazare). Ruines de Rome. London 1796-98. $195.00

click for detailed image StLazare.JPG

"Arch of St. Lazare"

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, which is very ancient, is generally supposed to derive its name from a small church in its vicinity dedicated to St. Lazarus; it is situated between mount Aventin and the Tiber, and is fronting the pyramid of Caius Cestius, which, within the walls of Rome, and the fine avenue that leads to the pyramid, forms a charming landscape, which the arch serves for a frame to the whole. The hermitage, at the foot of the mountain on the left is a picturesque addition to the scene."

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