Ernst Fries etching

ERNST FRIES      Heidelberg 1801 – 1833 Karlsruhe

View towards the south-east of Rome taken from the Capitol.

Etching made in collaboration with Joseph Thürmer; 1824.  Griffiths & Carey 124, German Printmaking in the Age of Goethe.  Entry below:

“In February 1788 Goethe attended a concert given by Count Rezzonico, the Senator of Rome, in his palace on the Capitol. In his 'Italian Journey', he gave an account of this magical evening: "The sun was setting and the view of the Colosseum and its surroundings from the Senator's window was magnificent ... I had only to turn my head slightly to survey a vast panorama, lit by the glow of the setting sun and extending on my left from the Arch of Septimius Severus, along the Campo Vaccino [Forum Romanum] to the Temple of Minerva and the Temple of Peace. In the background stood the Colosseum, and I let my glance wander beyond it past the arch of Titus, until it was lost in the labyrinth of the ruins of the Palatine and the wilderness around them, embellished with wild flowers and cultivated gardens".
Goethe then goes on to add: "I would recommend to my readers very highly a panorama of the south-eastern part of Rome, as seen from the tower of the Capitol, which was drawn and engraved in 1824 by Fries and Thürmer. Their viewpoint is several stories higher than the Senator's window, and their picture shows the recent excavations, but the lights and shades of the sunset are the same as those that I saw that evening. They will have, of course, to imagine for themselves the blazing colours with their shadowy blue contrasts and all the magic which the scene derived from them."

551 x 717 mm    21 ¾ x 28 ¼ inches