The Prima Macchina for the Chinea of 1767: A Triumphal Arch with the Farnese Hercules
1767
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From the collection of National Gallery of Art
1767
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From the collection of National Gallery of Art
This drawing shows a huge, fancy archway with stairs and statues. At the top, there’s a sculpture of a muscular man holding something over his head. Below, people in old-fashioned clothes walk around a garden with fountains and clouds floating in the sky. The whole scene looks like a stage set for a big event. The text at the bottom says this was made for a special parade in Rome in 1767. It’s not a real place—it’s a design for a temporary structure, like a giant float. Want to know more? Look up etching to see how artists like Giuseppe Vasi made prints like this.
