Giovanni Battista Piranesi

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1720-1778

Design for a Chimneypiece with Figures of Standing Victories above the Lintel

ca. 1764-1769

Pen and brown ink on paper.

6 1/4 x 5 7/8 inches (159 x 150 mm)

Bequest of Junius S. Morgan and gift of Henry S. Morgan.

1966.11:78

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Notes:

Drawing is on verso of a fragment of a letter, in pen and brown ink. Although not in Piranesi's hand, the letter regards the copper plates by Nicholas Dorigny that Piranesi acquired from Paris in 1763 and refers to a potential lawsuit against the banker Barazzi and his agents in Paris. See Stampfle catalogue cited below for full transcription.
On same mat as 1966.11:79.

Inscription:

Numbered at lower left, in graphite, "203(?)"
Watermark: Anchor in circle, surmounted by six-pointed star, centered on chain line.

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:

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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.

Bibliography:

Stampfle, Felice. Giovanni Battista Piranesi, Drawings in the Pierpont Morgan Library. New York : Dover, 1978, no. 78, repr.

Catalog link:

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Artist page:

Piranesi, Giovanni Battista

Classification:

Drawing

Department:

Drawings and Prints