Piranesi: Rome and Ruins

Reframing the Past: Piranesi's Vedute di Roma

Perhaps Giovanni Battista Piranesi’s best-known work, the Vedute di Roma print series was completed over the course of more than three decades, from 1747 until the artist’s death in 1778. This exhibition focuses on Piranesi’s views of Roman memorial monuments and on 18th-century approaches to antiquity, along with his contributions to the scholarly advancement of Roman architecture in the nascent field of art history. It also orients Piranesi’s Roman Vedute within the context of print culture and in relation to the Grand Tour. Co-curated by Meredith Fluke, Kemper Curator of Academic Programs, and Kimberly Cassibry, assistant professor of art, Wellesley College.

Generously supported by the Mary Tebbetts Wolfe ’54 Davis Museum Program Fund.

Photo: Giovanni Battista Piranesi, Temple of Saturn, from the series Vedute di Roma, 1774, etching, Davis Museum 1999.0.409