BARBAULT, Jean. Les plus beaux Monuments de Rome Ancienne ou Recueil des plus beaux morceaux de l'Antiquité Romaine qui existent encore. 1761.

First edition of this beautiful collection dedicated to ancient Rome, remarkably illustrated by the painter and engraver Jean Barbault.
117 engravings on 73 leaves, 9 large engraved vignettes in the text, and 1 on the title page.
They depict the principal monuments of antiquity—the Colosseum, the Pantheon, temples, columns, aqueducts, thermal baths, and paintings recently discovered at Herculaneum—some with their plans and bas-relief details.
Several etchings reveal the influence of Piranesi, with whom Barbault collaborated for a time.
The collection presents a true archaeological inventory.

The French painter and engraver Jean Barbault, born in Vienna near Beauvais around 1705, received a scholarship from the Academy of Fine Arts to study in Rome in 1749.
After graduating from the Academy in 1753, he decided not to return to France due to lack of funds and remained in Italy until his death in 1766.