Giovanni Battista Piranesi

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Giovanni Battista Piranesi
1720-1778
Architectural Complex of Galleries and Arcades with Niches, Trophies, and Oculi
ca. 1747-1749
Black chalk on laid paper.
16 5/8 x 21 13/16 inches (422 x 553 mm)
Bequest of Junius S. Morgan and gift of Henry S. Morgan.
1966.11:6
Provenance: 
Mrs. J. P. Morgan, New York; by descent to her sons Junius S. Morgan, Princeton and Paris (no mark, see Lugt 1536) and Henry S. Morgan, New York.
Bibliography: 

Stampfle, Felice. Giovanni Battista Piranesi, Drawings in the Pierpont Morgan Library. New York : Dover, 1978, no. 6, repr.

Notes: 

This faint sketch is unusual among Piranesi's drawings of this type in that it was not worked up in pen, ink, and wash. The architecture studied here is similar to that in the "Parte di Ampio Magnifico Porto," which appeared in the "Opere Varie" of ca. 1750. This is consistent, too, with the paper, which is a type that Piranesi used in the late 1740s.
Watermark: Fleur-de-lis inside circle, surmounted by letters "ACC", with letter "F" below circle, centered on chain line. Same as watermark on 1966.11:7

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Associated names: 

Morgan, Jane Norton, 1868-1925, former owner.
Morgan, Junius Spencer, 1892-1960, former owner.
Morgan, Henry S. (Henry Sturgis), 1900-1982, former owner.

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Artist page: 
Piranesi, Giovanni Battista
Classification: 
Drawing
Department: 
Drawings and Prints