Between 17 six different issues of the first edition appeared on the market. Piranesi did not publish a second part, but in the following years he etched other plates similar to the original thirteen and revised the entire work. The first edition of the Prima Parte was printed in 1743 and comprised thirteen plates and a letter-press dedication. Clearly, Piranesi learned and developed further, but the level of the first publication at age twenty-three shows he already had the talent of a genius” (Robinson, p. Granted that some of its thirteen plates are little more than pleasant exercises in a set tradition, others are strikingly inventive, extraordinarily successful in their complex compositions, and remarkably sophisticated in their harmonious technique. The series presented here, according to Robison, represents the second of six editions and it is in the fifth of eight issues. I. Second edition, fifth issue of Piranesi's first work: a record of the young engraver's first encounter with the antiquities of Rome and of his difficulty in giving visual form to its immense grandeur. Book block partly detached from the binding. Binding worn and rubbed, corners and extremities of the spine damaged. Spine with gilt title and volume numbering on double morocco lettering-pieces. ![]() This copy also includes nine etchings taken from other Piranesi works: four from the 1753 edition of the Trofei and ten etchings, printed on five leaves, from a 1760s edition of the Opere varie. II. Thirty etched plates (two titles, dedication to Giovanni Gaetano Bottari dated 20 July 1748, two plates of inscriptions and index, and twenty-five views). Watermarks: Robison 39 (late 1760s-early 1770s). ![]() By contrast, only about 350 years have elapsed between Piranesi’s lifetime and today.Two works in one volume, folio (330x465 mm). The ancient monuments were constructed over a period of 800 years, spanning the Roman Republic (509 to 27 BC) and the Empire (27 BC to 315 AD). Though most of the images fit within the margins of one page, several span the full spread of the book, and still others fold out to long vistas. The second edition, of which this is an example, includes an engraved dedication page to Gustavus III, King of Sweden, a great patron of Piranesi who funded the project. ![]() Each of the four tomes is several inches thick, more than a foot wide and nearly two feet tall. The books themselves are as monumental as the ancient towers they depict. Inspired by the recently discovered ruins of Pompeii and Herculaneum and his visit to the sites, Piranesi turned his attention to the ruins still visible in Rome, some already almost 2,000 years old. His aim was both to record the vanishing past for scholars and to inspire contemporary designers to emulate the achievements of ancient Rome. It was a popular purchase among wealthy travelers, mainly British men, on their coming-of-age European Grand Tour. When it first appeared in 1756, the work established Piranesi’s reputation as an authority of Roman archaeology and architecture. A complete set of the 220 engravings in four volumes is a highlight in our May 8 auction of Old Master Through Modern Prints. Giovanni Battista Piranesi spent eight years researching the ancient ruins of Rome before completing his magnum opus, Le Antichità Romane.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |