Giovanni Piranesi

Giovanni Battista Piranesi was born in Venice in 1720. The son of a
stonemason, he was educated as an architect under his uncle Matteo Lucchesi.
However, his work in this field was limited to a few restorations such as that
of the Church of S.Maria Aventina. In 1740, Piranesi left Venice for Rome to
join the suite of the Ambassador to the Papal Court and lodged for a time at
the Venetian Embassy. He studied etching under Guiseppi Vasi, who is best known
for engraving one of the largest views of Rome. He appears to have had little
success during these early years at Rome, and as his father was unable to
continue his allowance, he returned to Venice in 1744.

However, soon
after, he was encouraged to return to Rome by Guiseppe Wagner, a successful
engraver and publisher in Venice. This time Piranesi achieved success and
issued from his studio a constant series of works illustrating architecture and
antiquities. By 1748, Piranesi had started his ‘Vedute di Roma’ and during the
next thirty years, he etched 135 magnificent views of Rome. The prints were
sold as single plates or as collections, at first through his publishers
Bouchard and Gravier. Up to the early 1760s, Piranesi was constantly altering
and perfecting these plates, often adding extra shading to make each scene more
dramatic. Therefore, the earlier plates are found in several states, while the later
plates, in which he had perfected his technique, were rarely changed. In 1761,
Piranesi moved to a new workshop near the Spanish Steps and from then on
published his own work.

Piranesi’s
position in Rome and in Europe after 1760 was a prominent one. He was a
well-known figure to the wealthy English visitors in Rome and in 1757 was
elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries. He was knighted by the Pope in
1765 and regularly signed his plates Cavalier Piranesi sc. from this date
onwards. Sets of his works were among the regular purchases of the travelling
noblemen and connoisseurs making the ‘Grand Tour’ and the frequent gift of the
Pope to distinguished guests.

Piranesi's children, Francesco, Pietro and Laura, helped him in his work and after his death carried on
his publications. Francesco added 2 final
plates to the 135 made by his father and the family continued to sell the
plates in Rome until 1799 when they moved to Paris. The first Paris edition was
sold from 1800 to 1807. When Francesco died in 1810, the plates were acquired by
the Parisian firm of Firmin-Didot who issued prints from 1835 to 1839 after
which they were bought by what became the Regia Calcografia in Rome, which issued
sets from 1870 onwards.