Artist: Giovanni Battista Piranesi (1720 - 1778)
Nationality: Italian
Movement: Neoclassicism
Media: Architecture,Engraving
Influences:

Biography:
Giovanni Battista Piranesi was born in Venice where he was taught to draw by his designer uncle. He initially studied stage design and perspective, revealing a talent for architecture. Piranesi moved to Rome at the age of twenty to study the city’s ancient monuments. He spent his time producing etchings of ancient ruins and modern buildings. He later traveled to southern Italy to study and etch Greek architecture. While on this trip, he fell ill and was forced return home to Rome, where he died not long after. His work was widely inspirational to later artists and literary figures in the Neoclassical and Romantic periods.

Artworks in Museum Collections: (60)
Click the artwork titles below to see actual examples of artwork or works of art relevant to works by Giovanni Battista Piranesi.

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Giovanni Battista Piranesi, Francesco Polanzani (Venice, 1700 - 1783)  (Artist), 1750, Etching
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The Well, Giovanni Battista Piranesi (Italy, Mogliano, 1720 - 1778) , circa 1761, Etching
The Minneapolis Institute of Arts -
Artist: Giovanni Battista Piranesi Title: Great Piazza and Basilica of St. Peter"s from the "Le
The Minneapolis Institute of Arts -
Artist: Giovanni Battista Piranesi Title: The Lion Bas Reliefs, from The Prisons Series Date: 1761
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The Man on the Rack, Giovanni Battista Piranesi (Italy, Mogliano, 1720 - 1778) , circa 1761, Etching
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The Sawhorse, Giovanni Battista Piranesi (Italy, Mogliano, 1720 - 1778) , circa 1761, Etching
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The Sawhorse, Giovanni Battista Piranesi (Italy, Mogliano, 1720 - 1778) , circa 1761, Etching
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The Draw Bridge, Giovanni Battista Piranesi (Italy, Mogliano, 1720 - 1778) , circa 1761, Etching
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The Gothic Arch, Giovanni Battista Piranesi (Italy, Mogliano, 1720 - 1778) , circa 1761, Etching
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The Pier with a Lamp, Giovanni Battista Piranesi (Italy, Mogliano, 1720 - 1778) , circa 1761, Etching
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The Grand Piazza, Giovanni Battista Piranesi (Italy, Mogliano, 1720 - 1778) , circa 1761, Etching
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The Round Tower, Giovanni Battista Piranesi (Italy, Mogliano, 1720 - 1778) , circa 1761, Etching
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The Lion Bas-Reliefs, Giovanni Battista Piranesi (Italy, Mogliano, 1720 - 1778) , circa 1761, Etching
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The Giant Wheel, Giovanni Battista Piranesi (Italy, Mogliano, 1720 - 1778) , circa 1761, Etching
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The Staircase with Trophies, Giovanni Battista Piranesi (Italy, Mogliano, 1720 - 1778) , circa 1761, Etching
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The Pier with Chains, Giovanni Battista Piranesi (Italy, Mogliano, 1720 - 1778) , circa 1761, Etching
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The Smoking Fire, Giovanni Battista Piranesi (Italy, Mogliano, 1720 - 1778) , circa 1761, Etching
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Title Page, Giovanni Battista Piranesi (Italy, Mogliano, 1720 - 1778) , circa 1761, Etching
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The Temple of the Sibyl, Tivoli, Giovanni Battista Piranesi (Italy, Mogliano, 1720 - 1778) , circa 1761, Etching
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View of the Baths of Titus., Giovanni Battista Piranesi (Italy, Mogliano, 1720 - 1778) , circa 1775, Etching
J. Paul Getty Museum -
Studies of Four Figures
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The Arch with Rocaille Ornament, Giovanni Battista Piranesi (Italy, Mogliano, 1720 - 1778) , circa 1761, Etching
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Prisoners on a Projecting Platform, Giovanni Battista Piranesi (Italy, Mogliano, 1720 - 1778) , circa 1761, Etching
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Map of Rome and the Campo Marzio, Giovanni Battista Piranesi (Italy, Mogliano, 1720 - 1778) , circa 1774, Etching
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View of the Arch of Septimus Severus., Giovanni Battista Piranesi (Italy, Mogliano, 1720 - 1778) , circa 1772, Etching
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The Skeletons, Giovanni Battista Piranesi (Italy, Mogliano, 1720 - 1778) , circa 1747, Etching, engraving, drypoint, and burnishing
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A Magnificent Port, Giovanni Battista Piranesi (Italy, Mogliano, 1720 - 1778) , circa 1750, Etching, engraving and drypoint
The Minneapolis Institute of Arts -
Artist: Giovanni Battista Piranesi Title: View of the Flavian Amphiteatre Date: 18th century Medium: etching
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Interior of a Prison, Giovanni Battista Piranesi (Italy, Mogliano, 1720 - 1778) , circa 1743, Etching with engraving and drypoint
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Ancient Temple, Giovanni Battista Piranesi (Italy, Mogliano, 1720 - 1778) , circa 1743, Etching with engraving and drypoint
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Sculpture Gallery, Giovanni Battista Piranesi (Italy, Mogliano, 1720 - 1778) , circa 1743, Etching with engraving and drypoint
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Title Plate, Giovanni Battista Piranesi (Italy, Mogliano, 1720 - 1778) , circa 1743, Etching with engraving and drypoint
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The Tomb of Nero, Giovanni Battista Piranesi (Italy, Mogliano, 1720 - 1778) , circa 1747, Etching, engraving, drypoint, and burnishing
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The Tomb of the Plautii, near the Ponte Lucano, Giovanni Battista Piranesi (Italy, Mogliano, 1720 - 1778) , circa 1760, Etching
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View of the Small Waterfall and Rapids, Tivoli, Giovanni Battista Piranesi (Italy, Mogliano, 1720 - 1778) , circa 1769, Etching
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Hall in the Corinthian Order, Giovanni Battista Piranesi (Italy, Mogliano, 1720 - 1778) , circa 1743, Etching with engraving and drypoint
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Magnificent Architectural Space, Giovanni Battista Piranesi (Italy, Mogliano, 1720 - 1778) , circa 1743, Etching with engraving and drypoint
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Courtyard Surrounded by Porticoes, Giovanni Battista Piranesi (Italy, Mogliano, 1720 - 1778) , circa 1743, Etching with engraving and drypoint
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Ruins of Ancient Buildings, Giovanni Battista Piranesi (Italy, Mogliano, 1720 - 1778) , circa 1743, Etching with engraving and drypoint
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A Marble Vase with Pedestal from Hadrian’s Villa, Tivoli, Giovanni Battista Piranesi (Italy, Mogliano, 1720 - 1778) , circa 1769, Etching
The Metropolitan Museum of Art -
The Round Tower, plate 3 of Carceri, ca. 1749-60 Giovanni Battista Piranesi (Italian, b. Mogliano
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Vue d'une cour intérieur d'un palais (1963) by PIRANESI Giovanni Battista (d'après)
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Ornamental Frieze with Confronted Griffons and Other Fragments, Giovanni Battista Piranesi (Italy, Mogliano, 1720 - 1778) , circa 1768-1778, Etching
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Prima Parte di Architetture e Prospettive, Giovanni Battista Piranesi (Italy, Mogliano, 1720 - 1778) , circa 1743, Etching with engraving and drypoint
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Ancient Forum Surrounded by Porticoes, Giovanni Battista Piranesi (Italy, Mogliano, 1720 - 1778) , circa 1743, Etching with engraving and drypoint
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Bridge Covered by Loggias, and Arches, Giovanni Battista Piranesi (Italy, Mogliano, 1720 - 1778) , circa 1743, Etching with engraving and drypoint
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Imaginary Appearance of the Ancient Capitol, Giovanni Battista Piranesi (Italy, Mogliano, 1720 - 1778) , circa 1743, Etching with engraving and drypoint
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View of the Pantheon of Agrippa, today Santa Maria ad Martyres., Giovanni Battista Piranesi (Italy, Mogliano, 1720 - 1778) , circa 1761, Etching
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The Sawhorse, Giovanni Battista Piranesi (Italy, Mogliano, 1720 - 1778) , circa 1749, Etching, engraving, sulphur tint or open bite, and scratching
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Frontispiece: Fantasy of ruins with a statue of Minerva in center foreground., Giovanni Battista Piranesi (Italy, Mogliano, 1720 - 1778) , circa 1748, Etching
The Minneapolis Institute of Arts -
Artist: Giovannia Battista Piranesi Title: Side Table Date: about 1768 Medium: gilt oak, limewood, marble
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A. View of the Tomb of Liciniaus Piso on the ancient Appian Way...B. Tomb of yhe Cornelii..., Giovanni Battista Piranesi (Italy, Mogliano, 1720 - 1778) , circa 1764, Etching
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Francesco (Felice) Polanzani Portrait of Giovanni Battista Piranesi, from the series Le Antichit‡ di Roma (The Antiquities of Rome) Etching 1750
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Ancient Tomb with Obelisks Surrounded by Sepucral Urns, Giovanni Battista Piranesi (Italy, Mogliano, 1720 - 1778) , circa 1743, Etching with engraving and drypoint
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Group of columns which support two arches of a great courtyard..., Giovanni Battista Piranesi (Italy, Mogliano, 1720 - 1778) , circa 1743, Etching with engraving and drypoint
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Chimneypiece in the Egyptian style: Groups of three crouching figures on each jamb., Giovanni Battista Piranesi (Italy, Mogliano, 1720 - 1778) , 1769, Etching and engraving
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Jeune homme debout, mains jointes (1979) by PIRANESI Giovanni Battista
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Vue d'une nécropole parmi des ruines antiques et un temple by PIRANESI Giovanni Battista (attribué à)
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View of the so-called Tempio della Tosse [Temple of the Cough] on the Via Tiburtina a mile from Tivoli., Giovanni Battista Piranesi (Italy, Mogliano, 1720 - 1778) , circa 1763, Etching
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Chimneypiece in the Egyptian style: Lintel with addorsed Sphinxes flanked by bulls in profile., Giovanni Battista Piranesi (Italy, Mogliano, 1720 - 1778) , 1769, Etching and engraving

Artnews Articles and Exhibition Information: (10)
Click on any of the links below to read about artnews or exhibitions related to Piranesi

Santa Barbara Museum of Art: Picturing the Past: Piranesi to Pearlstein
As early as the Renaissance, the study of famous works of art of the Greek and Roman civilizations was an essential part of an artists education. The city of Rome was an important destination for anyone who ...
National Gallery of Art: The Unfinished Print: Works by Rembrandt, Piranesi, Degas, Munch and Others
The exhibition opens in conjunction with Jasper Johns: Prints from Four Decades and American Naive Paintings, which will be on view during the same period in adjacent galleries. ...
Museum of Fine Art Houston: Art of Rome in the 18th Century
In the 18th century, Rome's civic and religious leaders commissioned exceptional artists from throughout Europe to construct and embellish churches, palaces, fountains, public ...
Centre de Cultura Contemporania de Barcelona: Requiem for the Staircase: Curated by Architect Oscar Tusquets
Professor Juan Antonio Ramirez has selected a few very important paintings and drawings representing the entire history of art, in which each of the stairways has been represented by great artists. These are accompanied by film footage and lit...
Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Center for Visual Arts, Stanford University: The Changing Garden: Four Centuries of European and American Art
The Changing Garden presents nearly 200 works—prints, drawings, paintings, and photographs—by more than 100 artists. The exhibition includes great names from art history, such as Pieter Bruegel the Elder, Giovanni Battista Piranesi, Jean-Honoré Fr...
Frick Collection: When is a Work of Art Complete: Prints by Rembrandt, Piranesi, Degas, Munch and More
In the process of printmaking, an artist will normally take proof impressions as he makes changes to his plate. These proof states, as will be apparent through many groupings in the exhibition, can establish an exact record of the image in the pr...
Museum of Modern Art, Oxford: Enclosed and Enchanted
United by an interest in architecture and how the outside world can be reconfigured in the context of the gallery, these artists examine the duality in man-made, yet natural, spaces. The result is a kind of double enclosure, in which the appropria...
Philadelphia Museum of Art: The Splendor of 18th-Century Rome
A strong sense of their city's cultural centrality encouraged Rome's 18th-century civic and religious leaders to construct or embellish numerous churches, palaces, fountains, public plazas (piazze), gardens and gallerie...
Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen: Paul Noble: No accidents, only mistakes
No accidents, only mistakes The city has been designed and built on ruins by invisible citizens demonstrating a ‘knock-it-down-and-start-again-spirit’. It reveals the influence of the Garden City Movement on twentieth century town planning, ...
Montreal Museum of Fine Arts: Triumphs of the Baroque: Architecture in Europe, 1600-1750
The Baroque style was born in Rome about 1630 and spread throughout Catholic Europe, then in a state of upheaval brought about by divisive religious conflicts. The Europe of the Hapsburgs was threatened by the rise of...

Further Artwork and Information:

Giovanni Battista Piranesi Online
Giovanni Battista Piranesi - Art Images - Works and Biography - OCAIW
CGFA- Giovanni Battista Piranesi
Text Piranesi Vedute di Roma
Giovanni Battista Piranesi (Getty Museum)
PIRANESI - Index
Giovanni Piranesi
Piranesi, Giovanni Battista
Giovanni Battista Piranesi
Giovanni Battista Piranesi

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