Early 19th century large Micromosaic plaque depicting an Italianate waterfall scene
Early 19th century large Micromosaic plaque depicting an Italianate waterfall scene
probably Rome c.1815 after a landscape painting by Martin Verstappen (c.1772-1852)
the cascades depicted surrounded by lush trees and foliage, the mouth of a cave sits mid-right, the scene is viewed by two figures leaning upon a rock lower left foreground, set within a gilt coloured metal picture frame with acanthus leaf-tip band, suspension ring and finial above.
The early 19th century painting by Martin Verstappen, from which this micromosaic derives has been ascribed variously as both 'A View of the Waterfalls at Tivoli with Figures' and 'A View of the Waterfalls at Terni with Figures'. It is possibly an amalgamation of the two views, but would appear a little more likely to be the Terni falls, known as the Cascata delle Marmore, a Roman engineered waterfall in Umbria. In either instance, the romantic vista by Verstappen would have appealed to both his noble Italian patrons as well as the grand tour visitors, for whom this micromosaic would have been made. Verstappen, who settled in Italy after 1804, was influenced by the painterly trend toward more naturalistic views, a trait seen across the arts as a whole and part of the era of Romanticism.
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