Sublime Ideas

Late in life, Giovanni Battista Piranesi (1720–78) wrote that he had left his native Venice because no patron there would fund the grandeur of his ideas. He settled in Rome, where he became known across Europe as a printmaker and designer, among many other pursuits.

Piranesi is remembered chiefly for his etchings, but he was also a skilled draftsman who often developed much of his work in drawings first. This volume offers the most thorough and up-to-date examination of those drawings in more than a generation, with over two hundred illustrations that shed light on his life and creative output.

The book coincides with the Morgan's spring 2023 exhibition and takes a careful look at the lasting impact Piranesi had as an artist.