Capriccio with Roman Ruins

Capriccio with Roman Ruins

Francesco Guardi

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

While the idyllic, imaginary subject matter of this large composition is typical of Venetian paintings, drawings, and prints of the mid- to late eighteenth century, it is Guardi's realization of such drawings that ranks them as great feats of artistic virtuosity. Here, the landscape is articulated with a stunning immediacy and economy of mark, suggesting a light-filled space that gradually and magically dissolves into the far distance of the white paper. The ruin of an ancient Roman triumphal arch at the center more or less frames another, more complete building-a small, pedimented temple-behind it. The artist seems to have considered cropping the composition at left, after having drawn it, by ruling a line in graphite at the proposed cut and smudging some wash over the undesired forms to minimize them. The quick manner of summing up the contours of the forms with jittery, broken lines and the extensive use of underdrawing in graphite are among the hallmarks of Guardi's drawing style.

Drawings and Prints

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Capriccio with Roman RuinsCapriccio with Roman RuinsCapriccio with Roman RuinsCapriccio with Roman RuinsCapriccio with Roman Ruins

The Department’s vast collection of works on paper comprises approximately 21,000 drawings, 1.2 million prints, and 12,000 illustrated books created in Europe and the Americas from about 1400 to the present day. Since its foundation in 1916, the Department has been committed to collecting a wide range of works on paper, which includes both pieces that are incredibly rare and lauded for their aesthetic appeal, as well as material that is more popular, functional, and ephemeral. The broad scope of the department’s collecting encourages questions of connoisseurship as well as those pertaining to function and context, and demonstrates the vital role that prints, drawings, and illustrated books have played throughout history.