Francois Vivares after Giovanni P. Panini - 18th Century Engraving Roman Ruin

Description

An engraving by Francois Vivares (1709-1780) after a capriccio by Giovanni Paolo Panini (1691-1765) depicting figures at a fountain in a Roman ruin with the Pantheon and Colosseum in the background. First published in 1755. There is an identical impression in the collection of the British Museum. Inscribed with the names of the artists and publication information in plate to the lower edge. On wove.

Condition

There are some losses to the surface of the substrate in the sky. There is some discolouration, a crease to the upper-right corner, and a water stain to the lower-right edge. There are some scuffs and scratches to the frame.

Size

49.6 x 37.5cm (19.5" x 14.8")
Framed Size: 70.3 x 55cm (27.7" x 21.7")

Artist Biography

Francois Vivares (1709-1780) was a French landscape-engraver, active in England. He was born in France at Saint-Jean-du-Bruel, near Montpellier, on 11 July 1709, and brought up in Geneva. At the age of eighteen he moved permanently to London. He took on Peter Paul Benazech as an apprentice in 1746. Vivares exhibited engravings with the Incorporated Society of Artists in 1766 and 1768. During the last thirty years of his life, he resided in Great Newport Street, central London, where he kept a print shop. There he died on 28 November 1780, and was buried in Paddington churchyard. He was married three times and had 31 children. His son Thomas Vivares also worked as an engraver. His plates number about 160 and were largely published by John Boydell. Many were from the old masters: Claude, Gaspar Poussin, Il Bolognese, VanderMeer, and Cuyp; but a large proportion of them are views of English scenery after Thomas Gainsborough, Wootton, Thomas Smith of Derby, the Smiths of Chichester, and others. Claude's Enchanted Castle he left unfinished at his death, and it was completed by William Woollett. There is a portrait of Vivares, engraved by himself and James Caldwell.