Artwork

The Seconda Macchina for the Chinea of 1769: A Building for Public Entertainment

The Seconda Macchina for the Chinea of 1769: A Building for Public Entertainment is an ink print by the Romanticist artist Giuseppe Vasi. It dates from 1769 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.

Inscription: Inscribed:Lettered LL: "Cavaliere Paolo Posi Architetto", LC: "Giuseppe Palazzi disegno' ", LR: "Giuseppe Vasi incise" Lettered LC, below image: "Disegno della Seconda Machina che rappresenta un suntuoso Edifizio destinato a divertimenti publici ... 29 Giugno 1769 ... CLEMENTE XIV"

About this work

Overview

Created during the height of Vasi's career as a topographical printmaker, this work exemplifies his detailed documentation of Roman ephemera and civic rituals.

Giuseppe Vasi's 1769 etching, The Seconda Macchina for the Chinea of 1769: A Building for Public Entertainment, documents the temporary architectural spectacle erected in Rome for the annual Chinea festival. This event, held on the feast day of Saint Peter, involved the presentation of a white horse to the Pope by the Kingdom of Naples. The artwork depicts the 'seconda macchina,' a monumental, multi-tiered stage structure designed for public celebration.

The composition emphasizes verticality, featuring a base level crowded with spectators, a middle section adorned with windows and decorative elements, and an upper tier crowned by a clock, statues, and a balcony draped with curtains. A large curtained opening on the upper level suggests a hidden performance space or mechanism central to the festival's theatricality. Created during the height of Vasi's career as a topographical printmaker, this work exemplifies his detailed documentation of Roman ephemera and civic rituals.

Unlike his famous vedute of permanent monuments, this etching captures the transient nature of Baroque festival architecture, preserving a specific moment of 18th-century Roman public life that has since vanished.

Subject & Meaning

The composition centers on a stage‑like edifice composed of three distinct levels. The upper tier features a clock, sculptural figures and a balcony framed by heavy drapery, suggesting a ceremonial platform. Beneath, a large curtained aperture conceals the interior performance space, while the middle tier displays smaller windows and further decorative motifs.

The lower register shows a crowd in contemporary dress gathered around a street with a fountain and horse‑drawn carriages, illustrating the public’s engagement with the spectacle.

Technique & Style

Vasi employed the etching process, incising lines into a copper plate and using tonal shading to render depth and volume. Cross‑hatching and varied line density create the illusion of three‑dimensional architecture and atmospheric perspective, while the fine detailing of figures and urban elements demonstrates the artist’s skill in combining topographical accuracy with theatrical dramatization.

History & Provenance

Created for the 1769 edition of the Chinea, a tribute procession from the Kingdom of Naples to the Pope, the print served both as a record of the event and as a promotional image for the festivities. Copies of the etching circulated among collectors of Vasi’s vedute, and the work remains documented in several European print collections, reflecting its role as a visual testimony of 18th‑century Roman public celebrations.