In Villa Mecenate
Medium
etching on laid paper
Dimensions
plate: 27.6 x 36.9 cm (10 7/8 x 14 1/2 in.) sheet: 39.2 x 49.2 cm (15 7/16 x 19 3/8 in.)
Classification
Portfolio
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
New Century Fund
Accession Number
2003.86.68
Art Historical Context
Johann Christian Reinhart’s 1792 etching “In Villa Mecenate” invites viewers into a serene classical landscape rendered with remarkable precision. Created as part of a portfolio, the work reflects the late-eighteenth-century interest in documenting historic Italian sites through portable, reproducible prints. The title suggests a view of the ancient Villa of Maecenas in Tivoli, a place long associated with Roman literary culture. Etching on laid paper was especially valued at the time for its ability to capture fine architectural detail and atmospheric effects. Reinhart’s plate measures 27.6 ...
About the Artist
Johann Christian Reinhart · 1761–1847
Johann Christian Reinhart (1761–1847) was a German painter and engraver who became one of the founding figures of German Romantic classical landscape painting, spending nearly six decades in Rome and transforming his adopted city into an inexhaustible subject. Born in Hof, Bavaria, on 24 January 1761, Reinhart initially followed his father into theological study before his passion for drawing took...