François Mazois

179 Mazois 1828 medalCharles-François Mazois (1783-1826) was a French architect who also had a strong interest in the classics and historical structures.  After completing his formal education in Bordeaux and Paris, he lived and worked in Rome.  In 1809 he was appointed the Director of the Buildings of the Crown by King Joachim Murat of Naples to oversee projects such as the restoration works at the royal palace at Portici.  Mazois gained the favor of Queen Caroline, and with her patronage was able to study Pompeii and its structures between 1809 and 1811.  He meticulously measured and recorded the monuments, buildings, houses and their decorations, and created over four hundred and fifty highly detailed maps, plans, drawings and watercolors.  With the financial assistance of Queen Caroline, part of this work was published as Les Ruines de Pompei in two volumes in 1812.  After his death, François Gau edited, added to and published a four-volume set with the same title between 1824 and 1838.  (The 'Fortuna Visiva' of Pompeii and Amery & Curran, The Lost World of Pompeii)

Sir William Gell

179 gell dSir William Gell (1777 – 1836) was an English traveler, classical archaeologist and illustrator.  He was born in Derbyshire and received both a BA and MA from Emmanuel College, Cambridge.  After university he traveled in Greece and published two books about its geography and antiquities, thereby establishing his reputation as a classical topographer.  In 1807 he was made a Fellow of the Royal Society and was knighted in 1814.  He traveled to Italy with Princess Caroline in 1814 as one of her chamberlains (household managers), and subsequently moved to Rome in 1820.

During his travels, Gell would visit ruins and vistas where he made sketches and drawings that would then be turned into engravings for publication.  His works included books on Troy, Ithaca, Greece, the Morea, Rome and Pompeii.  His best-known work, Pompeiana; the Topography, Edifices and, Ornaments of Pompeii, was published in several editions between 1817 and 1832.  Gell died in Naples, and is buried there in the English Cemetery. (Image of Sir William Gell from Pompeiana, 1832)

1830 - Engraving of doorway VIII, 3, 10 on via dell’Abbondanza

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