Greece - Athens; James Stuart e Nicholas Revett – James Basire Londra, John Haberkorn, 1762 - The General View of Athens. - 1761-1780

Wide panoramic view of Athens, taken from the slopes of Mount Anchesmo near Kolonaki, on a drawing by James Stuart and engraved by James Basire.

In the foreground two Ionic columns with an entablature dominate, the remains of a structure identified in the text of the work as the front of a reservoir connected to the Hadrianic aqueduct. Around it sits a lively group of Ottoman hunters, accompanied by horses, dogs and servants.

Beyond the monument opens the cityscape, with the Acropolis, the houses of the Plaka, the Theseion and the Temple of Olympian Zeus; the perspective extends toward the Saronic Gulf, Salamis, Aegina and the coasts of the Peloponnese.

The plate derives from drawings made during Stuart and Revett’s Athenian sojourn, between 1751 and 1755. Published in the first volume of Antiquities of Athens, it brings together topographical interest, archaeological documentation and depictions of local life.

Condition: an exemplar in excellent state, complete with margins, with editorial folds.

Bibliographic references: Blackmer/Navari 1618; BAL RIBA 3183.