Giovanni Battista Piranesi rare books and prints

Giovanni Battista Piranesi (1720-78), born in Venice and raised in Rome, is best known for highly-charged, atmospheric representations of antiquity in his etchings. His work as a printmaker, whether exploring Roman architecture or displaying flights of spatial fancy in the celebrated Carceri (Prisons) series, make him probably the most collected printmaker of the eighteenth century.

His notable works include: Antichità Romane, 1756; Vedute di Roma, 1747-1778; Grotteschi, circa 1750; Carceri, circa 1745; and Delle magnificenza ed architettura de’ Romani, 1761.