The Waterfall at Tivoli with the Villa of Maecenas 1851

Ludwig Thiersch made this pencil drawing of the waterfall at Tivoli with the Villa of Maecenas in 1881. It shows a popular tourist destination outside Rome, one that was known for its natural beauty and ancient ruins. In the 19th century, the image of Tivoli was a key part of the Grand Tour, a traditional trip through Europe undertaken especially by upper-class European, later American, young men and women. It was intended to give them an appreciation of history, art, and culture. The fact that Tivoli was the chosen subject of the image suggests that Thiersch was working within the well-established conventions of landscape and travel art. To fully understand an artwork like this, it’s important to dig into the history of institutions like the Grand Tour, the art market and the changing status of landscape painting in the modern era. By looking at things like travel guides, artists' biographies, and exhibition reviews, we can gain a much richer understanding of the social and cultural life of this work.