A new exploration of Piranesi’s work as a draftsman, published to coincide with an exhibition at the British Museum. The Venetian-born artist Giovanni Battista Piranesi (1720–1778) is best known for his dramatic etchings of the architecture and antiquities of his adopted home city of Rome and for his extraordinary flights of spatial fancy, such as Le Carceri (“Prisons”). Published to coincide with an exhibition at the British Museum, this volume explores Piranesi’s celebrated skill as a draftsman. While many studies are concerned with Piranesi’s activities as a printmaker, this beautifully illustrated book examines new dimensions of his art by focusing on his drawings. Curator and author Sarah Vowles establishes a clear relationship between his drawings and prints, discusses the involvement of studio hands in his late works, and examines how his style as a draftsman evolved. Piranesi Drawings reveals the quality and lasting impact of the pen and chalk studies by a remarkably talented draftsman, as demonstrated by the superb collection at the British Museum.

Layers / by Heather Hyde Minor -- Lost and found / by Carolyn Yerkes -- Pages / by Carolyn Yerkes -- Dedicated and sent / by Heather Hyde Minor -- Bound / by Heather Hyde Minor -- Sold / by Carolyn Yerkes.

A beautifully rendered book that is the most important study of Piranesi's drawings to appear in more than a generation. In a letter written near the end of his life, Giovanni Battista Piranesi (1720-78) explained that he left his native Venice because no patrons were willing to support "the sublimity of [his] ideas." Residing in Rome, he became internationally famous as a printmaker and designer, among other numerous pursuits. While Piranesi's notoriety stems from his etchings, he was also an accomplished draftsman who first developed much of his work in drawings. Sublime Ideas is the most comprehensive, updated study of Piranesi's drawings with over two hundred illustrations offering insight into his life and creative endeavors. Coinciding with the Morgan's Spring 2023 exhibition, Sublime Ideas diligently surveys the artist's enduring work as an artistic force.

Reprinted from rare, expensive first and second editions, this version of Piranesi's masterwork presents side-by-side renderings of original and extensively revised drawings in a large format. 33 full-page illustrations.