Temple of Minerva or the Parthenon. " Tempio di Minerva o Parthenone

Greece: Rome Unknown. 1843. Copper engraving of the Parthenon by Andrea Gasperini. Black & white; verso blank. Dedication to "Signor Alessandro Cipriani di Livorno, amatore e dislinto cultore di belle arti" with the artist's sincere friendship and gratiude. A rare engraving, as far as we can determine it was seperately issued, ie never bound as a book with the others of the series. The large view shows the front of the Parthenon with various figures; in the foreground lie broken columns and pieces of the pediment. Good dark impression; some spotting within image; tear to lower margin, repaired. Andrea Gasparini, produced a series of engravings of Monuments of Athens, all dedicated to Alessandro Cipriani of Livorno, little is known about the artist or why Sig. Cipriani was interested in the views. The engravings are interesting for what they show of life in Greece after the fall of the Ottomans; whilst showing the monuments they also show life in Athens as a Greek town. In a number of the views Gasparini shows festivals or celebrations taking place at the sites.; they also reveal how small the 'city' was . Athens was chosen as the Greek capital for historical and sentimental reasons, not because it was a large city: there are few buildings in Athens from the period of Byzantine Empire and the 18th century. At the time these views were published new buildings were being erected : the University of Athens (1837), the Royal Palace (now the Greek Parliament Building) (1843), the National Garden of Athens (1840), the National Library of Greece (1842) but it is clear from the views that Athens was a small town.at the time of their drawing. Greece Continental Greece Athens Parthenon