Presenter: Jesus Fernandez, Architecture
Poster: A-9
Mentor: James Tice, Architecture
Guiseppe Vasi (1710 – 1782) created over 240 vedute or city landscape views of Rome during his lifetime and in the process provides us with a vivid document of the city and its people during the period. Vasi methodically and accurately depicts every corner of the city from impressive monuments to more humble quarters. His views of daily life also provide a fascinating social commentary rendering all classes with a witty and candid eye. The research project in which I have been involved highlights five spectacular panoramas that Vasi created at the height of his career. The largest of these, the Panorama of Rome taken from the Janiculum Hill, is over 9 feet long and shows 390 individual monuments that are carefully keyed to an index on the print. Working with faculty in the Department of Architecture and the InfoGraphics Lab in the Geography Department on campus, my research has been to carefully analyze and create a multi-media display, allowing the viewer to understand the wealth and breadth of the information, portrayed. The resulting work was formatted into an innovative iPad installation and included in the recent exhibition, “Giuseppe Vasi’s Rome: Lasting Impressions from the Age of the Grand Tour” sponsored by the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art last fall. The exhibition is currently showing at the Princeton University Art Museum.