The Gardens of the Villa Mattei, near Rome
Classification
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Bequest of Erskine Hewitt
Accession Number
1938-57-741-a
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Research in Progress
Art Historical Context
Created in 1761 by the French artist Jean-Baptiste Richard de Saint Non, this print captures the serene gardens of the Villa Mattei on Rome’s Caelian Hill. During the mid-eighteenth century, Saint Non belonged to a generation of French artists and amateurs who traveled to Italy part of the Grand Tour. His works helped bring the classical landscapes and architectural treasures of the Italian peninsula to audiences back home, fueling a widespread fascination with antiquity and picturesque scenery. As a print, the image would have circulated widely, allowing viewers who could not journey to Rome to experience the villa’s terraced gardens, ancient ruins, and formal plantings. Saint Non’s careful attention to light and spatial depth reflects the period’s growing interest in topographical accuracy combined with romantic sensibility. Today the sheet resides in the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s collection, a quiet reminder of how eighteenth-century prints shaped European ideas of Italy’s cultural heritage.