Bidspirit auction | [Extremely rare]. Piranesi, G.B. Vedute

[Extremely rare]. Piranesi, G.B. Vedute di Roma disegnate ed incise da Giambattista Piranesi architetto veneziano. - [Rome], [1761-1790s]. - T.I. - [68] dble. pl.; T.II. - [54] dble. pl.; 53,3x40 cm. - Description: 2 volumes in-folio. Leather bindings ca. late 18th century. Gold-embossed labels on the spines, with classicistic ornament, and lettered in French. Marbled endpapers. Album contains 121 etched double-page plates, including engraved title page and frontispiece with architectural capriccio, and also a folding plate ”Pianta di Roma e del Campo Marzio” (Great Plan of Rome and the Field of Mars). All impressions are on THICK LAID PAPER, characterized by high contrast and clarity, saturation of the pigment color. 43 plates are in the first state. At least 22 etchings are in so-called contemporary states as been captioned by Piranesi's address and price. 49 pl. are captioned with ”Presso L'Autore...” of any kind. Of the filigrees the following are encountered: 1) fleur-de-lis in double circle with letters CB - 1760-90s (e.g. 63, 65, 91 H.); 2) fleur-de-lis in double circle (added letters or images are illegible) - 1760-90s (e.g. 116 H.); ornamental shield with diagonal crossbar and dagger - 1760-80s (e.g. 77, 113 H.). It should be noted that clear dating of Piranesi's albums appears to be nearly unfeasible. The author continued to work on the series from 1478 until his death in 1778, when his sons Francesco and Pietro inherited the business. Etchings were available for purchasing by guests of Rome both individually and as part of collections with an index. These were a product of customer's will, their composition was variable due to issuing new sheets of series, and they might have also included other Piranesi's works. Furthermore, even researchers themselves note that contemporary and posthumous Roman editions often do not have clear distinctions, especially when Piranesi's address and price are not meant to be implied (from pl. 59 on). But further Paris editions do really demonstrate a gradual deterioration in quality. Filigrees encountered in the presented album reveal paper as Italian. As filigrees are one of the most certain evidence of date attribution, we can state that album production refers to no later than the 1790s - so-called posthumous Roman period. Meanwhile, sheets with Piranesi's address and price contain the address of Palazzo Tomati, where Piranesi moved in 1761. So that our date attribution appears. To conclude, the presented album contains CONTEMPORARY and POSTHUMOUS ROMAN impressions of Piranesi's works. Information: ”Vedute di Roma” (or ”The Views of Rome”) may be certainly defined as the most famous series of works by Giambattista Piranesi, which brought him world fame and designated the mythical portrait of the ”eternal city” for many centuries ahead. Piranesi continued to work on a series of ”Views” for thirty years of his life - from 1748 until his death in 1778. The entire series of engravings was published after the author's death by his son Francesco Piranesi (1758-1810), who created two introductory engravings for the album. ”Views of Rome”, might be said, carried a double function. Firstly, they served as a kind of souvenir for numerous Grand Tour participants. The study of Roman civilization heritage was the basis of academic education of the period, and, as a consequence, understanding of its value was a sign of truly connoisseur and a man of intelligence. And, secondly, these allowed us to capture the elusive atmosphere of the splendor of the city, with its incredibly powerful cultural heritage of the past and no less luxurious - of the present. Piranesi's contribution to archaeology and historical description of the heritage is invaluable - only in this series about a third of the depicted monuments no longer exist in their original form, having fallen victim to time or inept restorations. At the same time, it is impossible not to note the special dramatic, almost theatrical, pathos of Piranesi's compositions. The portrait of Rome created by him was so fascinating and convincing that, as researchers say, Goethe, upon arrival in the city, impressed by his works, was disappointed by its realities. Giovanni Battista Piranesi (ital. Giovanni Battista Piranesi or Giambattista Piranesi, 1720-1778) was an Italian archaeologist, architect and graphic artist, engraver, draughtsman, master of architectural landscapes. He had a strong influence on subsequent generations of romantic style artists, and later on Surrealists. Specification: Numeration and sequence are from A. Hind's catalogue. 1)Title page. - between III and IV state. 2)Frontispiece. - III state. 3) S.Pietro. - IV state. 4) S.Pietro. Interior. - IV state. 5) S.Pietro. Exterior. - III state. 6) S.Paolo. - IV state. 7) S.Paolo. Interior. - IV state. 8) S.Giovanni in Laterano. - IV state. 9) S.Maria Maggiore. - IV state. 11) S.Croce. - III state. 14) Piazza del Popolo. - IV state. 15) Piazza di Monte Cavallo.