[Giuseppi VASI] Disegno dell’Anticaglia (?)

This antique print shows ruins of the Temple to Serapis, which was built by Emperor Caracalla, as they appeared before 1630. The image to the right is based on a plate in Le Antichita della Citta di Roma, a 1565 book by Bernardo Gamucci.

Copperplate engraving/etching on Verge type hand laid paper paper.
Sheet size: 42 x 27,5 cm. Image size: 29,2 x 17,4 cm.

This scarce original antique print originates from: ‘Delle magnificenze di Roma antica e moderna’ by Giuseppi Vasi, published in Italy 1747 – 1761.

Made by ‘Giuseppi Vasi’ after own design. Giuseppe Vasi (27 August 1710 ? 16 April 1782) was an Italian engraver and architect, best known for his vedute. Vasi was a famous man and artist up to the 1760s, when Piranesi took definitively his place. Today Giuseppe Vasi is no longer considered Piranesi’s defeated rival, but an artist with his own personality and technique. Though far from being a revolutionary, he gave a significant contribution to the Roman school of engraving.

Condition: Very good, given age. An occasional minor spot in the margins. Small worm hole top right margin. Original middle fold as issued. General age-related toning and/or occasional minor defects from handling. Please study scan carefully.

PCOM-A03-26