City of the Soul: Rome and the Romantics

June 17-September 11, 2016
The Morgan Library, New York

Avery Classics materials feature prominently in a new exhibition at the Morgan Library & Museum entitled City of the Soul: Rome and the Romantics. As the curators of the show point out, “Rome exists not only as an intensely physical place, but also as a romantic idea onto which artists, poets, and writers project their own imaginations and longings. City of the Soul examines the evolving image of Rome in art and literature with a display of books, manuscripts, prints, photographs, and drawings.” Among the items loaned by Avery Classics are a panorama of Rome from The Illustrated London News (above), a travel album with hand-colored images of Rome that may have belonged to Friedrich Wilhelm, King of Prussia, and a detailed map of the city produced by Paul-Marie Letarouilly in 1841. Avery Digital Lab prepared a high-resolution digital image of the Letarouilly map, which was used by the Morgan to create a digital walking tour of Rome, allowing visitors to see some of the works on display next to modern-day images of the monuments.