Collection of 60 etchings printed for the first time in 1753 by Antonio Maria Zanetti, Venetian publisher and intellectual. The work is a sort of illustrated encyclopedia of artists and craftmen who enlivened the streets of Venice in the 18th century. Gaetano Zompini "invented, designed, and recorded" the plates, while a friend, Don Questini, parish priest of Santa Maria Mater Domini, provided a descriptive rhymed triplet at the foot of each engraving. Gaetano Gherardo Zompini was born in 1700 in Nervesa, close to Treviso. In Venice, where he lived, he painted frescoes and oils for churches and palaces (like the dome of St. Nicholas of Tolentino), but also forecourts in Spain and Muscovy, some Bacchanalia for England and 8 mythological canvases painted for the Venetian Palace Zinelli which are now in Mosznej Castle, Czech Republic. Zompini embraced every kind of painting but was particularly prolific in the field of engraving. The "Venice of the Arts" of Gaetano Zompini is a capital city that lives the last gleam of its secular power, it's the Venice of Carlo Goldoni, great contemporary playwright. Just as Goldoni's comedies depict many facets of Venetian society, Zompini's illustrations graphically summarize daily habits and customs in the streets. The triplet in Venetian dialect accompanying each illustration completes the fresco, giving us detailed information about the material culture of mid-18th century Venice. Among the few known original specimens of Zompini's work is the one preserved in the Biblioteca Estense of Modena, the basis of this facsimile. Commentary by Danile Bini. Deluxe edition limited to 149 numbered copies printed on Fabriano paper Vergatona, handbound with a silk cover with a coat of arms impressed in gold; claim shell box.
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plate no. 7 (detail)
| A co-production of Il Bulino, the Ministry of Heritage and Culture and the Biblioteca Estense of Modena. Euro 1,900
Please inquire for special OMI price |
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