Domenico de' Rossi (1659–1730) was an Italian

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, active in

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from 1691 to about 1724. Son of Giovanni Giacomo de' Rossi, in 1691 upon his father's death, Domenico inherited the printshop near the church of

Santa Maria della Pace Santa Maria della Pace is a Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholi ...

, the largest and most long-lived publisher of the Roman baroque. Several generations of the de' Rossi participated in the family publishing firm established in the 17th century, which continued to produce engravings for the use of designer

Publications

He is especially remembered for the three folio volumes of architectural engravings of elevations and frontal views of

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

palazzi and churches in

, which included among them some unexecuted designs of

Bernini Gian Lorenzo (or Gianlorenzo) Bernini (, ; ; Italian Giovanni Lorenzo; 7 December 1598 – 28 November 1680) was an Italian sculptor and architect. While a major figure in the world of architecture, he was more prominently the leading sculptor ...

and Borromini, and which were titled ''Studio d'architettura civile di Roma'' 1702, 1711, and 1721. The first volume, showing a wide variety of designs of windows, doors and gates, porticos and porches, chimney pieces and stairs, and dedicated to

Pope Clement XI Pope Clement XI (; ; ; 23 July 1649 – 19 March 1721), born Giovanni Francesco Albani, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 23 November 1700 to his death in March 1721. Clement XI was a patron of the arts an ...

, was engraved for Rossi by quite a large team:

Alessandro Specchi Alessandro Specchi (1668 – 16 November 1729) was an Italian architect and engraver. Biography Born in 1668 in Rome, he trained as an architect under Carlo Fontana. He also specialized as an engraver and made a well known series of plates ...

, Filippo Vasoni,

Carlo Fontana Carlo Fontana (1634/1638–1714) was an Italian people, Italian"Carlo Fontana."
''Encyclopæ ...

, Vinzendo Francischini, and others. De' Rossi also produced a book of designs for altars and chapels, ''Disegni di Vari Altari e Cappelle'', 1685. The series of engravings were some of the first to present the contemporary baroque decoration of 17th-century Rome, thus they are of interest to architectural historians and were reprinted with an introductory essay by

Anthony Blunt Anthony Frederick Blunt (26 September 1907 – 26 March 1983), (formerly styled Sir Anthony Blunt from 1956 until November 1979), was a leading British art historian and a Soviet spy. Blunt was a professor of art history at the University ...

, 1972. When he published a collection of engravings of ancient and modern

Roman sculpture The study of Roman sculpture is complicated by its relation to Sculpture of Ancient Greece, Greek sculpture. Many examples of even the most famous Greek sculptures, such as the ''Apollo Belvedere'' and ''Barberini Faun'', are known only from Roman ...

, ''Raccolta di statue antiche e moderne'' (Rome, 1704), he turned to the well-known antiquarian

Paolo Alessandro Maffei Paolo Alessandro Maffei (11 January 1653 – 26 July 1716) was an antiquarian with a humanist education, who was active in Rome. Maffei was the son of Paolo Maffei and his wife Giovanna di Raffaele, both of patrician families of Volterra. He was a ...

for suitably learned descriptive text, for what was in effect the first eighteenth-century art book, whose refined engravings by French artists were designed to appeal to the ''cognoscenti''.A point made by Hugh Honour and Nicholas Penny, ''Taste and the Antique: The Lure of Classical Sculpture 1500-1900'' (Yale University Press) 1981:23 The complete titles of Domenico de' Rossi's volumes: *''Studio d'architettura civile sopra gli ornamenti di porte e finestre tatti da alcune fabbriche insigni di Roma con le misure piante modini, e profili. Opera de piu celebri architetti de nostri tempi,'' Rome, 1702. Dedicated to Clement XI *''Studio d'architettura civile sopra varj ornamenti di cappelle, e diversi sepolcri tratti da più chiese di Roma colle loro facciate, fianchi, piante, e misure. Opera de' più celebri architetti de' nostri tempi'', Rome, 1711. Dedicated to Cardinal Francesco Acquaviva d'Aragona *''Studio d'architettura civili sopra varie chiese, cappelle di Roma, e palazzo di Caprarola, et altre fabriche con le loro facciate, spaccati, piante, e misure. Opera de' piu celebri architetti de' nostri tempi'', Rome, 1721. Dedicated to Cardinal Bernardino Scotto.

Notes

External links

Engravings by various artists from Domenico de' Rossi, ''Studio d'architettura civile''

bibliography, including material by the de' Rossi.

Publications

Notes

External links

Further reading