Pittaco Mitilineo

Pittaco Mitilineo  is a wonderful black and white burin and etching on paper, realized by the Italian artist Pietro Fontana  (Bassano Romano, 1762 – Rome, 1837), after Agostino Tofanelli  (Lucca, 1770 - Rome, 1834),   as the inscriptions on plate on the lower margin reports “ Agostino Tofanelli delineò. / Pietro Fontana incise Roma ”.

This original print is numbered on plate in Roman numerals on the higher margin “ Tom II. / Tav. XIX " and is a plate from the print collection " Illustrazioni de' Monumenti scelti Borghesiani già esistenti nella Villa sul Pincio (..) date ora per la prima volta in luce dal cav. Gio. Gherardo De Rossi e da Stefano Piale sotto la guida di Vincenzo Feoli ",   by Ennio Quirino Visconti, published by Stamperia de Romanis in Rome in 1821.

This old master’s original print represents a precious piece of the Borghese's collection: the marble bust of Pittaco (Mytilene, about 650 BC - about 570 BC), the ancient Greek philosopher, considered one of the Seven Sages who led the conspiracy that overthrew the tyranny of Melancro around 612 BC.

This unmissible piece for your art collection is in excellent conditions, with some imperceptible signs of time but still a very fresh impression.

Pietro Fontana  (Bassano Romano, 1762 – Rome, 1837)

The Italian artist and engraver Pietro Fontana was active in Rome and specialized in subjects dealing with the Vatican and the Papacy.  He started his career as student of Raffaello Morghen, and became well-known for his series of engravings of Canova's neoclassical sculptures. He became a member of the Accademia di San Luca.

Teodoro Matteini  (Pistoia, 1754 - Venice, 1831)

The Italian painter Teodoro Matteini specialized mainly in historical and religious subject matters in the neoclassical style. He was introduced to the art world by his father, the decorative painter Ippolito Matteini. He moved to Rome to assist Domenico Corvi and then to collaborate with Anton Raphael Mengs. He was active in Rome, where he worked on the Basilica of San Lorenzo in Lucina, in Bergamo, in Milan, and in Venice, where he became professor of painting at the Academy of Fine Arts and restored a vast collection of models in stucco and terracotta collected by the Abbot Filippo Farsetti.