The Temple of Isis at Pompeii

1788

etched by

Louis Jean Desprez

(French, 1743–1804)

Italy, 18th century

etching, hand-colored with watercolor

Support: Laid paper with added decorative border, lined with secondary sheet of laid paper

Sheet: 47.7 x 69.6 cm (18 3/4 x 27 3/8 in.); Secondary Support: 59.2 x 81.3 cm (23 5/16 x 32 in.)

John L. Severance Fund 2001.19

Catalogue raisonné: Piranesi XXXII, 7; Wollin p. 113 no. 7 I/II

State: state I/II

Location: 101A Prints & Drawings

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Did You Know?

Francesco Piranesi visited Pompeii with his father in the 1770s.

Description

Buried under layers of volcanic ash since the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE, the ancient Roman sites of Herculaneum and Pompeii were rediscovered and excavated in the 1700s. Remarkably well preserved, the two cities captured the imagination of Enlightenment Europe. Artists Francesco Piranesi and Louis Jean Desprez capitalized on the popularity of the ancient sites, creating an innovative souvenir of Pompeii. Etched by Piranesi, the prints were based on Desprez’s real-life observations. The latter artist hand colored and signed select impressions that the two advertised as dessins coloriés, or colored drawings, meant only for hommes de goût, or "men of taste."