20 February – 9 August 2020
Virtuosic and turbulent, Giovanni Battista Piranesi (1720 – 1778) was a visionary printmaker, architect, antiquarian and dealer. These varied aspects of his career were based on his practice of drawing, which has received comparatively little attention. The British Museum will mark the 300th anniversary of Piranesi’s birth through a new exhibition focusing on his work as a draughtsman. Piranesi drawings: visions of antiquity will examine his draughtsmanship through the quality and impact of his pen and chalk studies, as well as examining how the Venetian artist’s style developed throughout his career.
This exhibition is the British Museum’s first to focus on Piranesi as a draughtsman and celebrates the extraordinary richness of its collections of his drawings, which is one of the largest groups in the world. Through over 50 works, Piranesi drawings looks at his practice broadly chronologically with sections focusing on four different themes which preoccupied him throughout his career: Venice and Rome, The Carceri, The Glory of Rome, and Architect & Antiquarian.
The exhibition also allows visitors to see the way in which his style and interests as a draughtsman evolved over time. The works on display will range from the scene designs and Venetian fantasies of his youth to the prison scenes and dramatic views of Rome that he produced in his artistic maturity.
Additionally, the British Museum’s first Piranesi figure drawing will be on display for the first time, a new acquisition from 2019 collected especially for this exhibition.
The exhibition begins with one of the most impressive drawings by Piranesi in the British Museum’s collection,
A monumental staircase in a vaulted interior with columns, c. 1750-55©TheTrustees of the BritishMuseum
Fantastical façade of an antique building with columns, heads and sphinxes, c. 1765-69. The drawing dates from later in Piranesi’s career and is not only visually appealing but captures many of the themes explored throughout this exhibition, from his antiquarian flair to his interest in archaeology and his fantastical, extravagant spirit. Piranesi’s melange of architectural elements from Roman, Egyptian, and Etruscan cultures, exemplifies his belief in combining motifs into new and visionary creations.
A notable work featured in the section on The Glory of Rome,
The meeting of the Via Appia and the Via Ardeatina, seen at the second milestone outside the PortaCapena c. 1750-56,©TheTrustees of the British Museum
A striking and unusual drawing is,
A frontispiece design with tAwo skeletons in front of a tomb, c. 1746-47©TheTrustees of the BritishMuseum
A frontispiece design with two skeletons, in front of a tomb, c. 1746-47. Made during a visit to his native Venice, this highlights Piranesi’s skill in using pen and wash to create airy and playful visions of light and tone. Piranesi’s drawings are given context by a selection of related prints along with a pair of fragmentary Roman sculptures from the museum’s collection, purchased by Charles Townley from Piranesi in the 18th century.
Visitors are encouraged to explore his influence beyond the gallery by visiting the British Museum’s permanent collection, where the Piranesi Vase and the Trentham Laver can be found in the centre of The Enlightenment Gallery (Room 1). Piranesi drawings: visions of antiquity offers a rare opportunity to celebrate Piranesi’s influence as a draughtsman. His drawings demonstrate how he brought together his various passions to create magnificent imaginary buildings throughout his life as the architect of a fantastical, imaginary world.
A colonnaded
atrium with domes, c. 1740-43©TheTrustees of the British Museum
Fantastical façade of an antique building, c. 1765-69©TheTrustees of the British Museum
View of the StradaConsulare with the Herculaneum Gate in Pompeii, c. 1772-78©TheTrustees of theBritish Museum
Fantastical façade of an antique building, c. 1765-69©TheTrustees of the British Museum
View of the StradaConsulare with the Herculaneum Gate in Pompeii, c. 1772-78©TheTrustees of theBritish Museum
