Sepulcher for the Kings of France
Medium
etching and engraving on laid paper
Dimensions
plate: 39.9 x 53 cm (15 11/16 x 20 7/8 in.) sheet: 48.2 x 64.3 cm (19 x 25 5/16 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of Henry and Judith Rice Millon, in Honor of the 50th Anniversary of the National Gallery of Art
Accession Number
1991.203.23
Art Historical Context
**Sepulcher for the of France** (1739) is a etching and engraving by Giuseppe Vasi, faithfully reproducing an architectural design by the renowned Baroque architect Filippo Jura. Juvarra, celebrated for his dramatic palaces and churches across Italy and Spain, envisioned this grand sepulcher as a monumental resting place for French royalty, blending opulent symmetry with theatrical grandeur typical of the Baroque era. Created just three years after Juvarra death, Vasi's precise printmaking captures the architect's bold vision, inviting viewers to imagine a soaring mausoleum adorned with classi...
About the Artist
Giuseppe Vasi after Filippo Juvarra
**Giuseppe Vasi (1710–1782)** was a prolific Italian engraver, architect, and vedutista born in Corleone, Sicily, who rose to prominence documenting the grandeur of 18th-century Rome. After a classical education, he trained as a printmaker in Palermo, possibly at the Jesuit Collegio Carolino, contributing views to *La reggia in trionfo* in 1736 before relocating to Rome that same year. There, unde...