An Unknown Group of Drawings by Giovanni Battista Piranesi
1948; College Art Association; Volume: 30; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1080/00043079.1948.11407801
ISSN1559-6478
Autores Tópico(s)Historical Art and Architecture Studies
ResumoDISCUSSIONS of the drawings of Giovanni Battista Piranesi have invariably been prefaced by a statement of their rarity, a rarity that has always appeared paradoxical in view of the enormous graphic productivity of the great eighteenth-century etcher. Considering that the artist etched more than a thousand plates, many of them oversize, and that in numerous instances the plates must have entailed more than a single preparatory sketch, the number of his surviving drawings has appeared curiously out of proportion even when allowance was made for the scrapping of working drawings and the inevitable toll of the passing centuries. Consequently, there has always been speculation that eventually more of the drawings might come to light. Giesecke, Focillon, and Hind, the foremost authorities on Piranesi,1 have all at various times prophesied the discovery of additional material in private collections. Their prophecies have been spectacularly borne out in the group of drawings that has recently come to the Pierpont Morgan Library. From the collection of the late Mrs. J. P. Morgan, the Library has received through her sons Mr. Junius S. Morgan and Mr. Henry S. Morgan one hundred and thirty-three drawings which, with the exception of possibly nine or ten, are all unquestionably from the hand of Giovanni Battista Piranesi,” Executed in many cases on the verso of impressionsof the artist's own etchings, in some instances carrying notes in his autograph, in others easily identifiable as preparatory studies for his etched works and his architectural projects, the drawings constitute an authentic group of the greatest significance and interest for the further study and appreciation of Piranesi both as a draughtsman and as an architect.
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