Palazzo Vecchio, Florence

This exquisite drawing in brown wash by Friedrich Wilhelm Moritz (1783–1855) embodies intricate layers of cultural influence: depicting the first courtyard at the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence it records in virtuoso detail the makeover given to the palace interior by Duke Cosimo I de' Medici in the 16th century. Gilt stucco was added to the previously smooth pillars and frescoes of Austrian cities by Giorgio Vasari adorn the walls, painted for the wedding celebration of the Duke's eldest son, Francesco I de' Medici, to Archduchess Johanna of Austria, sister of the Emperor Maximilian II.

The Swiss artist Friedrich Wilhelm Moritz specialised in highly detailed topographical views of Switzerland and Italy in the early decades of the 19th century, capitalising on the popularity of the Grand Tour and helping create the idealised image of Switzerland in the Romantic imagination.