The full title of this series, translated from Italian by Piranesi expert John Wilton-Ely, is “The Trophy or Magnificent Spiral Column of marble composed of large drums on which are carved the two Dacian Wars of Trajan, raised in the middle of the large Forum, erected in honor of the same Emperor on the order of the Senate and People of Rome after his Triumphs.”<\/p>\n
These series of prints are further described by Wilton-Ely, as belonging to the last phase of Giovanni Battista Piranesi’s career, when a number of works in progress were finished with studio assistants such as Vincenzo Dolcibene and Piranesi’s son Francesco. Dolcibene and Francesco were probably involved in most, if not all, of the plates. The Baroque flourishes of the elder Piranesi are giving way in these works to “the growing influence of the aesthetic ideals of Neoclassicism.” (Wilton-Ely)<\/p>\n
Giovanni Battista Piranesi was a multi-talented and accomplished man of the enlightenment who combined supreme artistic ability and historical scholarship with an entrepreneurial business sense.\u00a0 He was at once an artist, architect, archeologist, designer, collector, and print and antiquities dealer.\u00a0 Many consider him one of the most influential artists in the development and popularization of the neoclassical style of the late 18th Century.\u00a0 According to scholar John Wilton-Ely, the distinguishing characteristics of Piranesi\u2019s early works were \u201cthe unorthodox combination of classical motifs, the manipulation of superhuman scale, the organization of powerfully receding perspectives upon diagonal axes, and the modulation of space by means of skilful lighting.\u201d\u00a0 Piranesi\u2019s work was recognized with his election as a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries in England in 1757.\u00a0 He was knighted by the Pope in 1765.\u00a0 Although Piranesi composed and etched many of his works, his son Francesco (1758-1810) and studio assistants such as Vincenzo Dolcibene also etched a significant number of the prints, especially in later years.<\/p>\n
Piranesi etched and published numerous folio print sets of art, architecture and archaeology of Rome and environs, that served as source material for other architects and designers.\u00a0 They were sold as souvenirs to English aristocrats on the Grand Tour in Italy or by subscription directly to British patrons.\u00a0 Among those influenced by Piranesi was the great British architect Robert Adam (1728-92), who was a colleague of Piranesi while in Rome on the Grand Tour in the 1750s.\u00a0 From the 1760s onward, Piranesi supplemented his printing business by joining the thriving trade in the restoration and sale antiquities to Grand Tour travelers. \u00a0Piranesi’s interest in these objects went well beyond historical restoration and marketing — he also advocated emulating the creativity of the Roman designers and integrating motifs from Greek and Roman antiquities with a contemporary sensibility to produce new and strikingly original works. The British were particularly good customers, so he set up his workshop and showrooms close to the British quarter of Rome.\u00a0 After Giovanni Battista Piranesi\u2019s death in 1778, Francesco and another son, Pietro, continued to republish Piranesi prints and sell antiquities.<\/p>\n
Condition: Each very good with the usual overall toning and wear. Center folds as issued.<\/p>\n
References:<\/p>\n
John Wilton-Ely. Giovanni Battista Piranesi: The Complete Etchings.<\/em> San Francisco: Alan Wofsy Fine Arts, 1994. 2 volumes. Chapter D.X, Volume II, page 767 (plates cited by not illustrated)<\/p>\n Rockwell, Peter et al. “Trajan’s Column.” The McMaster Trajan Project.<\/em> 1999. http:\/\/cheiron.humanities.mcmaster.ca\/~trajan (3 February 2004).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Giovanni Battista Piranesi (1720-1778) (after) Two prints relating to Trajan’s Column, a Roman monument that was placed on what was then the road to Umbria.\u00a0 These plates illustrate sections of the bas-reliefs on the column. This pair is from three Piranesi series of prints created between 1774 and 1779. They were eventually brought together as a composite publication recording the three monumental relief columns of Trajan (Marcus Ulpius Traianus, Roman Emperor from AD 98-117), Marcus Aurelius, and Antoninus and Faustina in Rome.\u00a0 Trajan\u2019s Column is covered with intricate carvings chronicling the Dacian Wars conducted by the emperor Trajan in an ascending spiral of 23 coils around the column rising 38 meters high including the base. Over 2,000 figures enact the story from the preparations for war until the ouster of the Dacians from their homeland. \u00a0The column is also known as \u201ccoclide\u201d for this spiralling decoration. It was surmounted by a statue of Trajan until 1587, when it was replaced by a figure of St. Peter.\u00a0 The high cubic base supporting the column is decorated at the corners with four eagles, and on three sides with bas reliefs showing trophies of Dachic arms.<\/p>\n Product description continues below.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":5323,"template":"","meta":{"wds_primary_product_brand":0,"wds_primary_product_cat":0,"footnotes":""},"product_brand":[],"product_cat":[897,6761,923,6785],"product_tag":[898,1792,868,709],"class_list":{"0":"post-5285","1":"product","2":"type-product","3":"status-publish","4":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"product_cat-antiquity","7":"product_cat-architectural-renderings","8":"product_cat-historic-sites-buildings","9":"product_cat-piranesi-prints","10":"product_tag-antiquity","11":"product_tag-historic","12":"product_tag-landscape","13":"product_tag-view","14":"post","15":"post-with-thumbnail","16":"post-with-thumbnail-large","18":"first","19":"instock","20":"purchasable","21":"product-type-simple"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.georgeglazer.com\/wpmain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product\/5285","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.georgeglazer.com\/wpmain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.georgeglazer.com\/wpmain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/product"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.georgeglazer.com\/wpmain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product\/5285\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21073,"href":"https:\/\/www.georgeglazer.com\/wpmain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product\/5285\/revisions\/21073"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.georgeglazer.com\/wpmain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5323"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.georgeglazer.com\/wpmain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5285"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"product_brand","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.georgeglazer.com\/wpmain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_brand?post=5285"},{"taxonomy":"product_cat","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.georgeglazer.com\/wpmain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_cat?post=5285"},{"taxonomy":"product_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.georgeglazer.com\/wpmain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_tag?post=5285"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nGiovanni Battista Piranesi (1720-1778), Francesco Piranesi (1758-1810),
\nVincenzo Dolcibene (engravers)
\nBassirilievi cavati della Colonna Trajana <\/em><\/strong>[Bas-reliefs removed from Trajan\u2019s column]
\nPlates XX and XXI<\/strong>
\nfrom Trofeo o si Magnifica Colonna Coclide di marmo\u2026<\/em><\/strong>
\n[Trophy, or the Magnificent Spiral Column of Marble…]<\/em><\/strong>
\nGiovanni Battista Piranesi, Rome: 1774-79
\nCopperplate engravings
\n30 x 22 inches overall, average
\n20.5 x 15 inches, plate mark
\n$1,500, the pair<\/p>\n