Plan of the Garden of the Grand Duke of Tuscany

DateFirst published 1677, MCCM edition published ca. 1688

MediumEtching

Credit LineArt History Department Fund

Dimensions22 x 28 1/16 in. (55.9 x 71.3 cm)

Object number1996.002 H

Label TextIn the plan of the Villa Medici, at the top right (no. 6) there is an artificial hill that Cardinal Ferdinando de' Medici had built up on top of a grotto or nymphaeum that was a relic of the ancient garden. This hill had a fountain decorated with a statue of Pegasus at the top and was meant to invoke Mount Parnassus, the home of the Muses. Visitors could climb to the summit via a spiral path and there find magnificent views over the entire city and also, perhaps, poetic inspiration. Today the villa houses the French Academy.
Exhibition HistoryThe Art of Collecting: Recent Acquisitions at the Michael C. Carlos Museum, Michael C. Carlos Museum, November 8, 1997 - January 4, 1998
Gardens of Rome, Michael C. Carlos Museum, February 14 - May 17, 1998
Discovering Rome: Maps and Monuments of the Eternal City, Michael C. Carlos Museum, September 16, 2006 - January 14, 2007
Old Masters: Highlights of the Works on Paper Collection, Michael C. Carlos Museum, August 15 - December 6, 2009
Antichità, Teatro, Magnificenza: Renaissance and Baroque Images of Rome, Michael C. Carlos Museum, August 24 - November 17, 2013
Published ReferencesMCCM Newsletter, September - November, 2009.
Michael C. Carlos Museum: Highlights of the Collections (Atlanta: Michael C. Carlos Museum, 2011), 138-39.
Antichita, Teatro, Magnificenza: Renaissance & Baroque Images of Rome (Atlanta: Michael C. Carlos Museum, 2013), 58 (checklist only).

ProvenanceEx coll. Rudolf Wittkower (1901-1971), Europe and United States. Purchased for MCCM by Emory University Art History Department from Peter Kraus [Ursus Books Limited], New York, New York.

InscribedLR in cartouche: PIANTA DEL GIARDINO DEL SERENIS.(MO) / GRAN DVCA DI TOSCANA ALLA TRINI / TA DE MONTI SV'L MONTE PINCIO; below is seven item legend; BL: Falda's name; BR: G.G. De Rossi's address and privilege

Status

Not on view

Collections