Piazza del Popolo

Piazza del Popolo is a beautiful etching and hand-colored gouache, finely engraved on copper and printed on laid paper. The work, which presents a remarkable quality of strokes and brilliant colors, is unsigned, but it is part of the 20 plates engraved in 1820 by the Swedish artist Carl Gustaf Hjalmar Mörner (or umo?rner) during his stay in Rome, certainly influenced by the style and manner of the coeval folkloric prints made by Bartolomeo Pinelli (cfr. Hermanin F., Una collezione di stampe e disegni dell’antico carnevale romano , Bollettino d’Arte, Rome, year I, January 1907, p. 28, cit.).

The title is engraved on plate on the lower center, and the print is numbered 3 on the lower right. The quality and conditions of preservation of the print are excellent.

This original print represents a side view of the Roman Piazza del Popolo during the famous Roman Carnival . The processions, games, and horse races started from this piazza to end up in Piazza Venezia through Via del Corso. The image also offers a glimpse of the base of the famous obelisk situated in the center of the Piazza, around which some elegant carriages with disguised people pass by.

The engraving is top-notch, pleasant, and fun, presenting a dynamic scene, bright colors, and a precise touch. Furthermore, the work is important as a folkloric narration of the carefree life in Rome during the Carnival.