"An Excavation of an Antique Building in the Villa Negroni" notebook

Unlined paper. Laminated binding. A5 (15 x 21 cm). 60 sheets (120 pages).

At the end of June 1777, an archaeological excavation began on land located in Villa Negroni alle Terme, in the Roman Esquiline Hill. The diplomat José Nicolás de Azara (1730-1804), a friend of Mengs, was involved in this project. As a result of this excavation, frescoes were revealed on the walls of the villa, which were copied and reproduced by Mengs. The painting reproduced on the cover of this notebook, An Excavation of an Antique Building in a Cava in the Villa Negroni, Rome (1777) by Thomas Jones, shows the progress of this undertaking.