Bird's Eye View of Rome
Medium
Engraving
Dimensions
plate: 16 5/8 x 28 1/16 in. (42.3 x 71.3 cm) sheet: 16 7/8 x 28 3/8 in. (42.9 x 72 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1949
Accession Number
49.97.525
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the Renaissance skies with *Bird's Eye View of Rome* (1553), a engraving by publisher Michele Tramezzino engraver Giulio de Musi. This expansive print (plate: 16⅝ × 28¹/₁₆ in.) captures the Eternal City from an elevated vantage, blending meticulous cartography with panoramic artistry. Bustling streets, grand basilicas like St. Peter's, and the Tiber River unfold below, dotted with tiny human figures going about daily life—a vivid snapshot of mid-16th-century Rome. Created during a transformative era, the engraving reflects Rome's resurgence after the devastating Sack of 1527. Under ...
About the Artist
Michele Tramezzino|Giulio de Musi ( |Italian) · |1526 – |1561
|Italian, active Venice and Rome, 1526–died 1561