Lasting Impressions of the Grand Tour: Giuseppe Vasi's Rome

March 5 through June 12, 2011 

Explore eighteenth-century Rome from the perspective of the artists who created lasting impressions of the Eternal City for travelers on the Grand Tour. The exhibition showcases paintings and etchings of ancient and modern Rome by leading artists Canaletto, Piranesi, Vasi, and others, alongside other collectibles and portraits of British noblemen and Roman residents. Captured with an eye for antiquity, topography, and social life, the works cast a compelling light on a great world capital in the age of the Enlightenment.

Stop by the Museum Store to purchase the accompanying 

200-page catalogue, beautifully illustrating Giuseppe Vasi's groundbreaking visual recording of eighteenth-century Rome. $40, $36 Friends members

New Highlights in the Gallery of African Art

Visitors will find an updated African gallery on the Museum's lower level, with several new acquisitions including an ikenga by an Igbo artist in Nigeria. Ikenga figures served as a focus for offerings and were often paraded in a show of community solidarity. They could be personal or communal; the size and complexity of Princeton's example--one of the finest in the world--suggests that it served a family or even a whole village.  

Explore more of the Museum's collection of African art online. 

Late Thursdays

Italy and the Grand Tour

Thursday, March 17,  7-9 p.m.

Take your own Grand Tour without leaving Princeton. Join us in the Museum galleries for Italian wine, antipasti, music, and self-guided tours as we celebrate the arts and culture of eighteenth-century Rome in conjunction with the special exhibition Lasting Impressions of the Grand Tour: Giuseppe Vasi's Rome.

New in the Museum Store

Italian Cameos

Engraved entirely by hand in Torre del Greco in southern Italy, a special collection of exquisite cameos will be available for purchase in the Museum Store in celebration of Lasting Impressions of the Grand Tour. To make the cameos, conch shells are delicately carved into works of art depicting dancing Muses, the Three Graces, Venetian landscapes, Roman horses, mermaids, and portraits, then set in 14-karat gold or sterling silver to wear as a brooch or pendant. Prices range from $150 to $350 up to $1,800; Friends receive a 10% discount.

Just for Friends

Tour: Virginia Is for Art Lovers

Princeton University Art Museum. Photo: Bruce M. White.

Gaspar van Wittel, Dutch, 1652/53-1736: View of Piazza del Popolo, 1683. Oil on canvas, 71.9 x 124.8 cm. The Memphis Brooks Museum of Art.

Igbo artist, Nigeria: ikenga, first half of the 20th century. Wood and polychrome, 116 x 30 x 30 cm. Museum purchase, Fowler McCormick, Class of 1921, Fund (2010-129). Photo: Bruce M. White.

Hubert Robert, French, 1733-1808: A View of the Loggia at Villa Madama, with Artist Sketching, 1760. Red chalk on cream laid paper, 49.3 x 36 cm. Museum purchase, Fowler McCormick, Class of 1921, Fund and Laura P. Hall Memorial Fund in honor of David Coffin, Class of 1940 and Graduate School Class of 1954 (2003-246). Photo: Bruce M. White.

Virginia Museum Fine Arts James W. and Frances G. McGlothlin Wing. © Virginia Museum of Fine Arts / photo: Travis Fullerton.

Reproduction of all images is prohibited by copyright laws and international conventions without the written permission from the copyright holder. © 2011 Princeton University Art Museum