Ruins on the Right of the Via Appia
ca. 1789
Medium
Watercolor over graphite
Dimensions
Sheet: 16 7/8 × 21 3/4 in. (42.8 × 55.2 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Roberta J. M. Olson and Alexander B. V. Johnson, 2015
Accession Number
2015.742.5
Art Historical Context
In the late 18th century, the height of the Grand Tour, flocked to Italy to immerse themselves in classical antiquity, commissioning artists like Carlo Labr to capture its timeless beauty. *Ruins on the Right the Via Appia*ca. 1789) exemplifies this fascination, depicting weathered remnants along Rome's ancient Appian Way of the oldest and most storied Roman roads lined with tombs, aqueducts, and milestones evoking the grandeur of the. Labruzzi, an Italian specialist in architectural vedute (precise topographical views), masterfully rendered this scene in watercolor over graphite on a generou...