Seventh View of Italy
Medium
Engraving
Dimensions
Sheet (Trimmed): 14 9/16 × 18 11/16 in. (37 × 47.5 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1953
Accession Number
53.600.1475
Art Historical Context
Created around 1770, *Seventh View of Italy* represents a collaborative effort between painter Joseph Vernet and engraver Jacques Philippe Le Bas. Vernet, celebrated for his luminous landscapes and seascapes, captured idealized scenes of the Italian countryside that appealed to the era’s traveling elites on the Grand Tour. Le Bas translated these compositions into engraving, a meticulous printmaking technique that allowed the image to reach a broader audience beyond those who could afford original paintings. This work reflects the 18th-century fascination with classical antiquity and pictures...