Giovanni Piranesi

I was asked the other night to recommend a book on etching, and I said I would, and then forgot to do it. The book that I recommend is called The Art of Etching by E.S. Lumsden, there is a link at the bottom of the page for that. This is another of those classic texts written in the 1920's and reprinted inexpensively today by Dover books (of course). This book tells you how to do etchings, set up a studio and all that you would expect, but that is not why I am recommending it. Much of the book is an excellent history of etching through history. The book pays particular attention to a revival of etching that took place in the British Isles at the end of the 19th century. I am going to be showing some of those down the road , they are wonderful and really too little known. These guys with names like Muirhead Bone and Frank Brangwyn were great designers. This blog is going to get obscure again. Real obscure, so pick up an extra filter, OK?


Tonight I want to show the etchings of Rome by Piranesi. From an area near and then controlled by Venice, Piranesi was the son of a master builder and stonemason. He moved to Rome and served an apprecticeship under Guiseppe Vasi he returned to Venice and probably befriended Tiepelo who was also a fine etcher. In 1748 he returnerd to Rome and opened a workshop producing folios of etchings of the eternal city.

He had some training in architecture although he was unable to attract many commissions. He measured the historic and ancient architecture of Rome. He had the ability to imagine what the ruins would have looked like before they were damaged. He developed a lucrative trade in representations of the ruins of Rome. These etchings are so exciting and dynamic, they are full of strong contrasts and highly detailed and textured passages. They are really sort of outrageous and overblown and I found them very easy to like at an early age.

I suppose I will reveal what a geek I am by saying that I discovered these in high school and had a big folio of reproductions of the Prisons series. I dragged it around with me to study. I drew some imitations of them in India ink. Just a few years befor I had been imitating Big Daddy Ed Roth (Look him up, kids!) Piranesi was one of my heroes early on. I studied Constable and the Dutch masters too. Remember there were no books on American painting, not even on Sargent! and there were no books on 19th century academic painting either other than Ingres and David. Up until just a decade or so ago I had most of the common art books that interested me. Today there are so many I can't begin to have them all. Every time I go online or in a big bookstore like at the met, I see something I want. I will never catch up now.

Piranesi did thousands of etchings, most of architecture. Tomorrow I will show you the Carceri or the prisons, of which I showed a few the other night. They look like contemporary Hollywood concept art. They are really very surprising and I think you will enjoy the Prissons etchings a lot if you are not familiar with them. Which would no doubt be the case for most people, I guess.