Giovan Battista Piranesi

Frontispiece from "Carceri d'Invenzione" - Etching by G. B. Piranesi - 1749/59

1749/50

Sepolcro Regio, o Consolare , inciso nella rupe del Monte Albano (Royal or Consular Tomb in the Alban Hills) is an original etching realized by Giovan Battista Piranesi in 1764. Ed...

Image dimensions 40x60. Veduta degli Avanzi sopra terra dell’antico Ustrino (View of the visible remains of the ancient crematorium) is a wonderful black and white etching on thick...

XXXIII Fig. I Avanzo del Tempio di Castore e Polluce .View of the Remains of the Peristyle of the House of Nero, Etching, 1756 Signed in the plate (see photo) From: Le Antichità Roma...

Ruine di Sepolcro antico Etching, 1743 Signed in the plate bottomleft in the caaption plate From: Prima Parte, 1743 Second edition: 1750-1778 Watermark: R 37-39 A lifetime impression printed during Piranesi’s life, before the plates are moved to Paris by his sons in the 1790’s Coniditon: Excellent/Very good Image size: 14 5/8 x 9 3/4 inches Reference: Robison 17 iii/V Piranesi In Rome: Prima Parte di Architetture e Prospettive "Although Piranesi studied architecture in Venice, he never was able to find work in the field other than a few jobs involving remodeling in Rome. While Piranesi was struggling to support his architectural endeavors upon his arrival in Rome in 1740, he spent a short period of time in the studio of master painter Giovanni Battista Tiepolo (1696-1770) in addition to his apprenticeship with Giuseppe Vasi. The first production of Piranesi’s early years in Rome and a culmination of his training under Vasi, Tiepolo, and his uncle, was the Prima Parte di Architetture e Prospettive (1743). The Prima Parte was a collection of twelve etchings of imaginary temples, palaces, ruins, and a prison. During this time, Piranesi was still developing the unique style of etching he is known for today, and as such the Prima Parte differs significantly in technique compared to later works. In the Frontispiece of the Prima Parte, Piranesi’s lines are definite and exact with very little flow to them, designed in the form of traditional etching. The detail is immaculate, and yet perspective of the piece is oddly simple and familiar to the viewer. Piranesi’s technique employs miniscule markings and lines, intricately woven together to create a stippling effect. The Prima Parte, described as “rigid” by art historian Jonathan Scott, came to be seen as a stark contrast to his later sketches, which were much lighter and freer. Influenced by the style of Tiepolo, which epitomized the lightness and brightness of the Rococo period, Piranesi adopted some of the more painterly techniques of the masters he apprenticed under. Piranesi made the medium of etching appear as though it was a sketch or a painting, hence a “freer” and more fluid design in his later works. For example, the frontispiece of the Prima Parte read as an etching to Piranesi’s audience, but in his later vedute, the style of etching almost appears to be made of brushstrokes. Moreover, at the same time Piranesi was working on the Prima Parte, he aided the artist Giambattista Nolli. There is a small section of Nolli’s map...