Mont Caprino, Rome
HERMAN ARMOUR WEBSTER (1878-1970), Monte Caprino, Rome, etching, c. 1925, signed in pencil lower right. In excellent condition, with full margins and deckle edges, 5 3/8 x 7, the sheet 9 1/4 x 11 1/4 inches, archival matting.
A fine strong impression, printed in black ink on cream laid paper.
Born in New York and educated at Yale, Webster discovered Paris and its artistic ferment in 1900, moved there in 1904 to study at the Académie Julian with J.-P. Laurens and the etcher Eugène Béjot, and also was inspired by the etchings of Whistler and Meryon. Webster travelled extensively in Europe, and made numerous etchings of Paris and other European cities; he became widely distinguished as a painter-etcher both in Europe and the U.S.
During the middle ages the Campidoglio, one of the Seven Hills of Rome, was simply known as “Monte Caprino” where goats grazed among the ruins. In the 16C Michelangelo redesigned the square to accommodate the position of a pre-existent palace, the Palazzo dei Conservatori. On its foot there is the imposing Piazza Venezia, one of the biggest and most central squares of the city.