Rovine cagionate in Tivoli, dall'escrescenza dell'Aniene (Tivoli Damaged by the Flood of the River Aniene)
Medium
etching on laid paper
Dimensions
plate: 3.8 × 44.6 cm (1 1/2 × 17 9/16 in.) sheet: 41.5 × 53.4 cm (16 5/16 × 21 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund
Accession Number
2015.45.1
Art Historical Context
Johann Christian Reinhart’s 1826 etching captures the dramatic aftermath of a devastating flood along the River Aniene inoli, Italy. The composition reveals toppled walls, scattered debris, and altered landscapes, transforming a natural disaster into a poignant visual record. Created the same year as the depicted event, the print serves as both artistic response and historical testimony to the river’s destructive power on this ancient hill town. Executed as an etching on laid paper, the work highlights the medium’s capacity for precise line work and atmospheric detail. The narrow plate format...
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...