Giovanni Battista Piranesi
1720-1778
Design for a Chimneypiece with Reliefs, Garlands, Bucrania, and Standing Figures of Minerva
ca. 1769-1771
9 11/16 x 13 3/8 inches (246 x 340 mm)
Pen and gray-brown ink, over black chalk, on paper.
1966.11:85
Bequest of Junius S. Morgan and gift of Henry S. Morgan.
Notes
William Rieder (1975) notes the similarity of this design to that of the chimneypiece by Piranesi now at Gorhambury, which was commissioned by Edward Walter, who was in Rome from 1769-71. See also the related designs, 1966.11:73, 1966.11:74, 1966.11:75, 1966.11:77, and 1966.11:83. This drawing seems to be a clean copy of another sketch, most likely by a member of Piranesi's workshop rather than Piranesi himself.
Inscriptions/Markings
Numbered at right, in black chalk, "8 1/2 // 11 1/2", each encircled; numbered at lower right, in graphite, "98".
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.
Morgan, Junius Spencer, 1892-1960, former owner.
Morgan, Henry S. (Henry Sturgis), 1900-1982, former owner.
Bibliography
Stampfle, Felice. Giovanni Battista Piranesi, Drawings in the Pierpont Morgan Library. New York : Dover, 1978, no. 85, repr.
Artist
Classification
Century Drawings
School
Catalog link
Department