Busto di Nerone

Busto di Nerone (Bust of Nero) is a beautiful black and white burin and etching on paper, realized by the Italian artist Pietro Fontana ,  after Bernardino Nocchi  as the inscriptions on plate on the lower margin report “ Bernardino Nocchi delineò.  / Pietro Fontana incise Roma ”.

This original print is numbered on plate in Roman numerals on the higher margin “ Tom II. / Tav. XVII " and is a plate from the print series " 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 shows a precious piece of the Borghese's collection: the marble bust of the Roman Emperor Nero, realized in a neoclassical style and with a wise touch.

In excellent conditions, with some light signs of the passing of time, some sporadic minor stains along the margins above all at the bottom, and a usual yellowing of the paper on the lower margin. This wonderful burin has preserved until today its 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.

Bernardino Nocchi  (Lucca, 1741 - Rome, 1812)

Bernardino Nocchi moved to Rome in 1769 with his colleague Stefano Tofanelli, entering the school of Niccolò Lapiccola where he developed a Baroque style with neoclassical suggestions. Bernardino Nocchi was noticed by Pope Pius VI, whom in 1780 entrusted him with the painting of the Sacred Apostolic Palaces and then in 1785 with the Print Room of the Vatican Library. In Rome, Nocchi made some of his best paintings: Prince Camillo Borghese in 1799, The apotheosis of Saint Prudenziana , Saint Novato , and Saint Timothy in 1803, and Pius VII in 1807.