Gezichten op Rome

About this artwork

plaatrand: hoogte 97 mm x breedte 130 mm

Art Historical Context

Giovanni Battista Mercati’s 1629 etching *Gezichten op Rome* offers a compact yet evocative glimpse of the Eternal City during the Baroque era. Measuring just 97 by 130 millimeters, the print captures architectural landmarks with remarkable precision, reflecting the period’s growing fascination with topographical views. Etchings like this allowed artists to reproduce fine details of ancient ruins and contemporary structures, making them popular among travelers and scholars who sought portable records of Rome’s monuments. Mercati, an Italian printmaker active in the early seventeenth century, ...

About the Artist

Giovanni Battista Mercati · 1591–1645

Giovanni Battista Mercati (1591–1645) was an Italian Baroque painter and engraver whose career exemplified the vibrant artistic culture of 17th-century Italy, particularly in Rome and his native Tuscany. Baptized on October 1, 1591, in Borgo San Sepolcro (Sansepolcro), Tuscany, Mercati moved to Rome to pursue greater opportunities in the papal capital, where he became a member of the prestigious A...