Italy - Trieste; Lloyd - Trieste - 1851-1860

Technical data sheet

Title: Trieste. Panoramic view of the city and the port, surrounded by eight views of local places and monuments.
Designer: Vincenzo Poiret, also known as Vincent Poiret; signature «Poiret del.» at the bottom left.
Publisher: Stabilimento Artistico del Lloyd Austriaco.
Place: Trieste.
Period: circa 1852–1862.
Technique: copperplate engraving, presumably on steel, with hand coloring of an era not ascertained.
Support: paper.
Dimensions: sheet 23.5 × 31.5 cm; depicted part 13.5 × 19.5 cm.
Composition: single plate with central panorama and eight smaller views, linked by an ornamental frame with vegetal motifs; referable to the publication Letture di Famiglia, issued by the Lloyd Austriaco between 1852 and 1862.
Inscriptions: title “Trieste” at the bottom center; designer’s signature on the left and indication of the Stabilimento Artistico del Lloyd Austriaco on the right; captions under the individual views.

Description

Composite view of Trieste, executed from the drawing by Vincenzo Poiret and published by the Stabilimento Artistico del Lloyd Austriaco around the mid-19th century. The composition presents in the center a panorama of the city from the sea, with the waterfront front, the urban buildings and the surrounding hills, accompanied by eight views dedicated to the main city sites.
Among the subjects depicted are Piazza della Borsa, the galleria del Tergesteo, the Ponte Rosso, Piazza Grande and the Cathedral of San Giusto. The scenes are animated by passersby, boats and small groups of figures, conveying the commercial character and daily life of the 19th-century city.
The views are enclosed within curvilinear frames, connected by an intricate interweaving of leaves, tendrils and small figurative elements. This ornamental arrangement gives unity to the plate and guides the transition from the general panorama to the monumental details.
The engraved line, minute and regular, describes the architectures and urban perspectives with precision. The hand coloring distinguishes the sea, skies, buildings and the attire of the figures, extending to the vegetal frame with green tones. The work constitutes a testimony of Austro-Hungarian Trieste, observed through the port, public spaces and historic monuments.

Historical-artistic note

Vincenzo Poiret was a designer active in the 19th-century Trieste figurative production. His name is associated with views intended for editorial diffusion, in which topographic description blends with the picturesque and ornamental taste of the era.
The Stabilimento Artistico del Lloyd Austriaco played a significant role in the production of illustrated books, guides and prints. The plate is referable to Letture di Famiglia, an illustrated publication issued in Trieste between 1852 and 1862. The arrangement of a central panorama surrounded by smaller views responds to the 19th-century taste for celebratory and documentary images of cities, capable of gathering on a single sheet the most representative places.

Condition Report

Sheet with wide margins and visible plate impression. Paper shows slight yellowing and scattered brown spots and foxing, mainly in the upper, lower and lateral margins, with some spots close to the composition. The figurative part remains legible overall, with preservation of architectural details and the ornamental apparatus.