Workshop of Giovanni Battista Piranesi

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Workshop of Giovanni Battista Piranesi
1720-1778
Front View of a Funerary Monument with Dolphins and Swag Framing Latin Inscription, Separate Enlarged Detail of Dolphin. Verso: sketch of an architectural detail
ca. 1760-1765
Red chalk on paper, irregularly trimmed; verso: red chalk.
10 7/8 x 8 3/8 inches (277 x 213 mm)
Bequest of Junius S. Morgan and gift of Henry S. Morgan.
1966.11:28

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Notes: 

Although traditionally attributed to Piranesi, this study is a bit feeble when compared to his works and is more likely by one of his studio assistants. It most likely dates to the early 1760s, when Piranesi was at work on his archaeological publications.

Inscription: 

Inscribed within design, in red chalk, "DM / EUTYCHIAE / NICOSTRATUS / CONIUX / BMF"; numbered at upper right, in graphite, "31" or "37".
Watermark: Fleur-de-lis in circle, with bird above and letter "B" below. See 1966.11.41 for same watermark.

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.
Watermark: 
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.

Bibliography: 

Stampfle, Felice. Giovanni Battista Piranesi, Drawings in the Pierpont Morgan Library. New York : Dover, 1978, no. 28, repr.

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