Ecole du XVIIIe siècle - Ruines du Temple de Jupiter Olimpien à Girgenti

This sheet is a true historical copper-engraved print from the late 18th century (late Rococo / Neoclassicism).

Title: “Ruines du Temple de Jupiter Olimpien à Girgenti” (Ruins of the Temple of Olympian Jupiter in Girgenti, today Agrigento on Sicily).

What is depicted are massive, weathered stone blocks and fragments of columns from the gigantic temple complex in the famous Valley of the Temples (Valle dei Templi).
Additional text: "Les cannelures des colonnes ont 20 pouces d'Angleterre de largeur" (The fluting of the columns is 20 English inches wide – a note on the colossal dimension of the columns).

Who produced the engraving and when?
On the left and right beneath the image border are the names of the artists:
Left (I. H. Houel pinx.): Jean-Baptiste Houël (1735–1813), a famous French painter and engraver who traveled through Sicily in the 1770s.
Right (B. A. Nicollet sculp.): Bernardo Antonio Nicollet (1741–1800), a well-known engraver who transferred Houël’s drawing onto the copper plate.
Date of creation: ca. 1781–1787 (late 18th century).
Origin: It is an original plate (Sheet No. 9) from the famous luxury work “Voyage pittoresque ou Description des royaumes de Naples et de Sicile” by Abbé de Saint-Non, printed in Paris.

Age, condition & value
Age: Over 240 years old.
Special feature: As with the Rom-Vedute, this piece is on handmade laid paper. The deeply incised plate mark at the edge of the paper proves the authenticity of the manual copper-plate print.
Value: Individual sheets from Saint-Non/Houël’s work are highly sought after by collectors of historical travel literature, France & Italy enthusiasts.