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The Girandola at the Castel Sant'Angelo

Image courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Arts | CC0 1.0

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Artist

Designed and coloured by Louis Jean Desprez (1743-1804)

Collection

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Image Link

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/335996

Description

From 1471, the papacy sponsored a spectacular fireworks display called the Girandola at the Castel Sant'Angelo in Rome, the papal fortress originally constructed as the mausoleum of the emperor Hadrian. Every year at Easter, on the eve of the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul (June 28) and whenever a new pope was elected the fireworks would be staged. This remarkable print, designed and hand-colored by Louis-Jean Desprez and etched by Francesco Piranesi (son of the more famous Giovanni Battista) depicts the Girandola from a vantage on the opposite bank of the Tiber. In the foreground, spectators watch from carriages and a canopied viewing stand. Animated crowds populate the dramatically foreshortened Ponte Sant'Angelo, and the explosion of the rockets illuminating the night sky dominates the upper half of the sheet. Medium: etching with hand-colouring.
Additional Makers: Etched by - Francesco Piranesi (1758-1810)

Image Licence

CC0 1.0

Image Credit

Image courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Arts

Location

Pia Castel S. Angelo, Rome, Italy

Country

Medium

Tags

Bridges
Castles
Ceremonies
Rivers

Category

Buildings & Architecture

Glossary
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© 2024 Watercolour World | Technology by The Museum Platform

© 2024 Watercolour World | Technology by The Museum Platform