Disegni di Prospettiva Ideale (1732)

In the spring of 1732 Filippo Juvarra sent from Rome an album with 41 Disegni di

Prospettiva Ideale meant for August the Strong, prince-elector of Saxony and king of

Poland. Bearer of the gift was Antonio Giuseppe Gabaleone Count of Wackerbarth

Salmour ¿ the Turin nobleman naturalized in Saxony ¿ who at that time was in the

papal city on a secret mission on the king¿s behalf. The album preserved in the

Kupferstich-Kabinett of Dresden celebrates the exemplarity of Rome over the

centuries. Through its themes, its staged compositions, and its graphic technique,

an evocative narration unfolds ¿ a further confirmation of Juvarra's multifaceted

qualities as a great director of the arts. The drawings are here analyzed as a whole

for the first time, together with some unpublished letters that help shed light on

an artistic exchange involving the courts of Rome, Turin and Dresden. --