Giovanni Battista Piranesi (Italian, 1720–1778), Veduta Interna del Sepolcro di S. Costanza, ca. 1750. From Le Vedute di Roma series. Etching on
paper, 16 7/16 x 21 7/8 inches. Jundt Art Museum, Gonzaga University; The Bolker Collection: Gift of Norman and Esther Bolker, 1984.5.219.
S
eventy-six Italian views by 68
artists, from the 16th to the 21st
centuries, comprise A Grand Tour at
the Jundt Art Museum at Gonzaga
University in Spokane. Besides a few
oil paintings, the majority are works
on paper, especially prints. Two
themes are readily apparent to the
thoughtful observer: artists’ abiding
fascination with the charm of Italy
and with the art and craft of fine art
printing. On one level, students can
explore the history and varieties of
printmaking styles and techniques. 1
Perhaps less obvious, another theme
woven into the show is tourism itself
and, since the world that gave the
artists the monuments and vistas ran
at a much slower pace than today,
one might pause to ponder whether
getting places (and doing just about
everything else nowadays) faster and
faster really equals better, as we’re
continually told.
Giovanni Battista Piranesi (Italian, 1720–1778), Veduta del Tempio della Sibilla in Tivoli (View
of the Temple of the Sibyl at Tivoli), 1761. From Le Vedute di Roma series. Hand-colored etching
on paper, 16 7/8 x 26 1/8 inches. Jundt Art Museum, Gonzaga University; Gift of Margaret Gose,
1980.5.
Part of a series of 135 views of Rome by Piranesi, this etching of the interior of what was
originally the mausoleum of Emperor Constantine’s daughter Constantia includes a group of
“Grand Tourists” contemplating and discussing their perceptions in the bottom right corner.
To place the scene in its context, it should be noted that the classical education at Oxford or
Cambridge was to a large degree based on Greek and Roman language, literature, and ideas.
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