Giovanni Battista Piranesi

Giambattista Piranesi

1720 (Mogliano Veneto, Italy) – 1778 (Rome)

Piranesi’s powerful architectural etchings and engravings have strongly influenced artists, designers and writers from the Romantic age to the eras of classic film and the computer game. More of his prominent acquaintanceships have to be classed as possible (Canaletto, a known influence) or probable (Tiepolo, whose studio he almost certainly worked in, Winckelmann, who crossed swords with him in print, Kauffman and Nollekens) than definite. However he knew Ramsay, was visited by Soane, and had a close rapport over many years with Adam, to whom he dedicated an important work of architectural and archaeological polemic.

Giovanni Battista Piranesi knew…