Matthew Dubourg - Claudian Aqueduct

View of the Claudian Aqueduct, Between Imperial Archaeology and Anglo-Saxon Picturesque
View of the Aqua Claudia in Rome engraved in aquatint and finely hand colored at the time, taken from the first edition of the famous collection of Roman archaeological views published in London in 1820. The image depicts one of the most monumental infrastructural complexes of ancient Rome, presenting a portion of the monumental arches of the Aqua Claudia with the imperial inscription clearly legible on the attic, set in a landscape context animated by figures in keeping with the British picturesque taste of the early nineteenth century. The composition combines antiquarian precision and scenographic sensibility, transforming the Roman engineering work into an evocative and learned view.
Market value
The individual loose plates taken from the first edition of British collections of Roman archaeological views, especially if etched in aquatint and hand colored at the time, are consistently valued by the collecting market. The price, between 300 and 500 euros, is supported by the print quality, the freshness of the coloring, the presence of wide margins, and the iconic appeal of the subject, particularly sought after within representations of ancient Roman infrastructure.

Physical description and condition
Etching in aquatint on paper, hand-colored at the time. Single folio sheet, approximately 404 × 322 mm. Architectural view of the Claudian Aqueduct, with an imperial inscription incised and small human figures. Wide margins; gold-cut visible along the sheet thickness. Some waviness and browning. In old books and prints, with a long, multi-century history, some imperfections may be present that are not always noted in the description. Pp. 1.

Full title and author
Claudian Aqueduct. Plate 23.
London, J. Taylor, 1820.
Matthew Dubourg.

Biography of the Author
Matthew Dubourg (1703–1767) was an engraver and designer active between Ireland and England, known for the production of architectural and landscape views intended for the educated public of the eighteenth century. His works contributed to the diffusion of Roman and classical imagery in the Anglophone world, particularly within the cultural context of the Grand Tour. His output stands out for the balance between descriptive accuracy and painterly rendering, qualities that favored his editorial success and posthumous editions in the early nineteenth century.

Context and Significance
The painting fits into the tradition of Roman archaeological views intended for Grand Tour audiences, in which the great works of imperial engineering are celebrated as testimonies of the technical and civil greatness of ancient Rome. The Claudian Aqueduct, a symbol of Roman constructive capacity and of the continuity between nature and architecture, is here interpreted according to a visual language that merges antiquarian rigor with picturesque taste. The presence of figures and the landscape heightens the narrative dimension of the ruin, reflecting the historical and romantic sensibility of early nineteenth-century British culture.

Printing history and circulation
A plate engraved as part of the first edition of the work Views of the Remains of Ancient Buildings in Rome, and its Vicinity, published in London in 1820.

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES
Matthew Dubourg, Views of the Remains of Ancient Buildings in Rome, and its Vicinity, London, J. Taylor, 1820.
Comparisons with British collections of Roman archaeological views from the eighteenth to the nineteenth centuries.