Album of Drawings of Rome and the Surrounding Countryside

1744/1750

Charles Louis Clérisseau and Joseph-Marie Vien

Associated Names
Joseph-Marie Vien

Artist, French, 1716 - 1809

Charles Louis Clérisseau

Artist, French, 1722 - 1820

Artwork overview

  • Medium

    album with 53 black chalk and graphite sketches and 1 watercolor (first two in volume by Clerisseau, remaining by Vien)

  • Credit Line

    Mark J. Millard Architectural Collection

  • Dimensions

    page size: 42.5 x 27.7 cm (16 3/4 x 10 7/8 in.)
    overall size (volume closed): 43.5 x 29.3 x 1.7 cm (17 1/8 x 11 9/16 x 11/16 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1983.49.150-203

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Associated Artworks

See all 54 artworks
The image portrays an architectural ruin with a view of vertical elements such as a classical column and an arch. A statue is visible in a niche on the left. The brushstrokes are detailed, capturing the intricacies of the column and flowing water from a fountain. The color palette includes earthy browns, grays, subtle greens, and pale blue-gray. Water in the fountain is depicted with whites and blues. The scene conveys textures of aged stone and flowing water.

Fountain in a Courtyard

Charles Louis Clérisseau

1768

This is a drawing of an architectural column detail. The drawing showcases the intricate design of a Corinthian column capital, featuring acanthus leaves and volutes typical of this classical style. The upper portion includes the entablature with detailed measurements noted on the sides. The shading and line work emphasize precision and detail, focusing on the decorative and structural elements of the Corinthian order.

L'Ordre Corinthian

Charles Louis Clérisseau

1768

The image shows a sketch of a round, classical-style building with columns. The horizon is placed towards the top of the image, with other structures such as rooftops and a distant tower visible against it. The sketch features bold brushstrokes emphasizing the outlines of the architecture and landscape. The color palette is monochromatic, dominated by black and white contrasts. A small human figure gestures outward in the foreground, with the building positioned beyond it.

The Round Temple on the Piazza Bocca della Verità, Rome

Joseph-Marie Vien

1744

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Antonio Cesare Poggi (died c. 1836; Lugt 617); Charles Edouard Mewes; Mark J. Millard, New York; purchased by NGA, 1983.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

2009

  • Renaissance to Revolution: French Drawings from the National Gallery of Art, 1500-1800. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 2009, 138-141, 283, no. 60a-e.

Bibliography

1988

  • Gaehtgens, Thomas W. and Jacques Lugand. Joseph-Marie Vien Peintre du Roi (1716-1809). Paris, 1988: 132-133, no. 17a (the album; all drawings repr.)

1990

  • Méjanès, Jean-François, in Acquisitions, 1984-1989. Exh. cat. Musée du Louvre, Cabinet des dessins. Paris, 1990: 81, under no. 116 (the album).

1993

  • Wiebenson, Dora and Claire Baines. The Mark J. Millard Architectural Collection, Volume I, French Books Sixteenth through Nineteenth Centuries. Washington, 1993: no. 53 (the album; 1983.49.187 repr.).

Inscriptions

on third folio (the first with drawings by Vien) in graphite at upper right: Etudes par Clerisseau

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