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Jean Barbault (1718 - 1762)
French painter and engraver. Pupil in Paris of Jean Restout II,
in 1745 he failed to win the Prix de Rome and came to Rome early in 1747
at his own expense; there he met Giovanni Battista Piranesi.
In the next year he produced the engravings for the "Varie vedute
di Roma antica e moderna" published in Rome.
He became a "pensionnaire" at the Académie (1749-53) and many of his
idealized Roman landscapes date from that period.
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Ettore Roesler Franz
(Rome 1845 - 1907)
He dedicated his youth to business and only when 32 he became interested
in art: operating as an autodidact in his studio at Piazza S.
Claudio he reached a great ability in photography and depicting, mainly
landscapes. His water-colours showing the roman country and the "Roma
sparita" [Vanished Rome] are often the only memory that we
have of the medieval Roma.
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Pierre Gussman (Paris 1862
- 1936)
Painter, engraver and scholarly he became famous at the end of
1800 for two collections of watercolours on Pompei acquired from the
French State: one of them now at the School of Fine Arts and the other
at the Sorbona of Paris. He wrote important notes on the technique of
paintings of Pompei. He was also illustrator, designer for advertising
poster and collaborator to art magazines.
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Rodolfo Lanciani (Montecelio
(RM) 1847 - Rome 1929)
Engineer, archaeologist and topographer, he was the Chief
Engineer at the Technical Office of Excavations (1877-1890) during the
restructuration of Rome as new Capital, and in this capacity he close
followed the city transformation and the innumerable archaeological
discoveries, producing an enormous amount of precious documentation; he
published the famous Forma Urbis in 46 sheets (1893-1901) scale 1:1000.
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Pirro Ligorio (Neaples ~1510 - Ferrara 1583)
Architect, painter and antique dealer, moved to Rome in 1534.
In 1549, in charge of cardinal Ippolito
II Este, he was the supervisor of the archeological excavation of Villa Adriana in Tivoli, near Rome, and from 1550 to
1572 he showed all his talent designing the famous Villa d'Este in Tivoli, a masterpiece of fountains, gardens and
scenographical effects.
In 1553 he published the "Libro delle antichita' di Roma" (book of antiquities of Rome).
Between 1559 and 1562 designed the Casino of Pio IV in Rome and subsequently the Palazzo Torres-Lancellotti.
In
1568 he moved to Ferrara at the Este's court, and there he died in 1583.
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Giovanni Maggi
(1566 - Rome 1618)
Architect, cartographer and engraver from Lombardy, he was a
good-natured man with a great perspective sense, and is one of the first
authors in Rome of etchings representing natural landscapes. He was the
author of the series "Ten Basilicas" and various Rome maps:
1599, 1603, 1608 e 1625. The last one was not engraved by Maggi due to
economical problems and it was published posthumous by Paolo Maupin that
bore the carving expenses on wooden matrixes.
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Giovan Battista Piranesi
(Majano di Mestre (VE) 1720 - Veice 1778) [More
news - italian only]
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Luigi Rossini (Ravenna 1790
- Rome 1875) [More
news - italian language only]
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Aegidius (Egidius o Gillis) II
Sadeler (1575 ? - 1629)
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Giuseppe Vasi (Palermo?
1710 - Rome 1782) [More
news - italian language only]
He began to draw when only 15; probably learned the engraving techniques
in the college Carolino in Palermo.
He came to Rome in 1736 and, even if not too much is knows about his
activity, he studied the works of Ghezzi, Pannini and Juvarrai. In 1741
he engraved the title of the first volume of the Capitolium Museum. In
1746 engraved the 5 etching of Palazzo Farnese di Caprarola and in 1750
the figurative history of the 17 jubilees already hold.
In 1740 Giovan Battista Piranesi (see) came to Rome and, attracted by
his style stated Vasi as his master; after the apprenticeship their
relationship breaks off, as the quiet style of Vasi doesn't meet the whim
of Piranesi.
In 1747 Vasi came to Neaples, where was appointed as Royal Engraver.
From 1747 to 1761 he attended to his most important work: the 10 books
of the "Magnificenze di Roma" [Magnificences of Rome], where
he accurately depicted the papal town.
In 1763 engraved "Itinerario istruttivo per ritrovare le antiche e
moderne magnificenze di Roma" [Instructive itinerary to find the
ancient and the modern magnificences od Rome], a successful work that
became the most popular guide among the foreign tourists; in 1765
engraved the Rome prospect. His last work, incomplete, is the
"Caduta del fiume Velino nella Nera" [Fall of Velino river
into Nera].
He died in 1782 in Rome and was buried in the church of St. Gregorio at
Ponte Quattro Capi.
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Giggi (Luigi) Zanazzo (Rome
1860 - 1911)
Roman writer, produced a rich collection of novels, fables, legends,
anecdotes and news for the Roman people of his time. In the 1887 he
founded the dialectal newspaper Roman "Il Rugantino".
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