Giovanni Battista Falda, Li Giardini di Roma con le Loro Piante Alzate e Veduta in Prospettiva, (Rome), Giovanni Giacomo De'Rossi, 1683.

Giovanni Battista Falda, ca. 1640-1678, was an Italian printmaker known best for his architectural views. Many of his publications celebrated the renovation projects of Pope Alexander VII (pope from 1655-1667), who sponsored Bernini and other principals of the High Roman Baroque.

17^th-century Italian printmakers created series on the art, architecture, and landscape of Rome. These prints were often purchased by patrons of art and architecture, and therefore they played a significant role in encouraging the Grand Tour, a rite of passage for many European gentlemen.

Falda is known for his relatively realistic and accurate depictions, as compared to the picturesque style employed by contemporaries. Giovanni Giacomo de Rossi (1627-1691) was a leading publisher and print dealer in Rome.

The Pamphili were a Roman dynasty. Giovanni Battista Pamphili (1574-1655) became Pope Innocent X in 1644. His nephew, Camillo Pamphili (1622-1666), was a Cardinal. The Villa Pamphili was a magnificent Roman villa built over the 16^th and 17^th centuries.

The villa’s gardens featured a collection of sculpture displayed in architectural niches and throughout the grounds. Dominicus Barrière (d. 1678)—one of the preeminent architectural draftsmen in Rome—was commissioned to draw and engrave views of the Villa Pamphili and a number of its statues.

The book includes 76 illustrations of statuary by Barrière and illustrations of the villa and fountains by Giovanni Battista Falda, a printmaker known for his illustrations of fountains and gardens.

The gardens also included “natural” areas with groves and a zoological collection. The above image, for example, shows elements of the Roman countryside (cows, a hunt, fishing, a boy with a flute, even a tent in the upper right) that have been incorporated into this urban garden.

Rare G.B.Falda large scale delineated impressions.

22” x 29 3/4”

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Good condition with gutter fold, stain in bottom right margin outside of platemark. Full margins with added paper margin to bottom.