Description Historique De L'Italie: En Forme De Dictionnaire; 1°. Contenant La Gèographie Tant Ancienne Que moderne, l'état des Royaumes, Républiques ... 2°. L'esprit de leur Gouvernement ... 3°. Le Génie des Habitans ... 4°. Un détail circonstancié des Monuments antiques ... 5°. La Description des Eglises, Palais ... 6°. Un détail des Peintures ...
A French historical dictionary of Italy, compiled by Chambeau and published in 1790, describing its geography, governments, customs, antiquities, churches, palaces and paintings for French readers. The four engraved plates shown here are black-and-white copperplate views of Venetian and Roman sites, including the Piazza San Marco with its columns, the Rialto Bridge with gondolas, a ruined tomb overgrown with vines, and a statue of a figure holding a scroll with a plumb line and tools at its base. Their dense, fine hatching and orderly perspective give a designer a model for architectural engraving, crowd scenes and ornamental cartouche banners.
