Third View of Italy
ca. 1750–95
Medium
Engraving
Dimensions
Sheet (Trimmed): 13 3/4 × 15 11/16 in. (35 × 39.8 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1953
Accession Number
53.600.1477
Rights
Public Domain
Art Historical Context
"Third View of Italy" is an 18th-century engraving created between roughly 1750 and 1795 by Pierre Jacques Duret after a design by the celebrated French landscape painter Joseph Vernet. Measuring about 35 by 40 centimeters, this print belongs to a series of Italian views that captured the imagination of European audiences during the era of the Grand Tour. Vernet, renowned for his luminous seascapes and atmospheric landscapes, supplied the original composition, while Duret translated it into the precise lines of an engraving—a technique prized for its ability to reproduce fine detail and tonal subtlety across multiple impressions. Such prints played an important cultural role in the 1700s, bringing idealized visions of Italy’s classical ruins, harbors, and dramatic skies to collectors who might never travel there. The medium allowed these evocative scenes to circulate widely, shaping public taste for picturesque travel and romanticized nature. Acquired by the Metropolitan Museum of Art through the Harris Brisbane Dick Fund in 1953, the work exemplifies how engraving bridged painting and popular appreciation, preserving Vernet’s celebrated style for generations of viewers.
About the Artist
Pierre Jacques Duret|Joseph Vernet (French|French) · 1729 |1714 –1796 |1789
French, Paris 1729–1796|French, Avignon 1714–1789 Paris