Veduta della Basilica di S. Giovanni Laterano

Location

Country: Italy
City: Rome
Place: British Embassy

Giovanni Battista Piranesi was born in Mogliano Veneto, near Treviso. He studied architecture under his uncle, Matteo Lucchesi. His most original works are etchings of extravagant, imaginary prisons, published as ‘Carceri d’Invenzione’ (1749/50). However, he is better known for views of ancient and modern Rome, published from 1745 onwards as ‘Vedute’, and for pro-Roman, anti-Greek writings, based on archaeological resources. Piranesi’s work greatly influenced 18th-century architecture and representations of the Decline and Fall of Rome. In 1757 he was made a member of the Society of Antiquaries in London. In 1771, Horace Walpole wrote: ‘Piranesi ...conceived visions of Rome beyond what it boasted even in the meridian of its splendour.’

Places

Italy, Rome

Subjects

carriage, statue (as Subject), sculpture (as Subject), topography, horse, man, walking stick, stone wall, church, ruin, dome, column, facade

Materials & Techniques

etching

Artist

Giovanni Battista Piranesi (1720 - 1778)

Title

Veduta della Basilica di S. Giovanni Laterano

Series Title

Vedute di Roma

Date

Medium

Etching

Acquisition

Purchased 1983

Provenance

Purchased by John Cornforth with non-GAC funds.

GAC number

15397