Justly renowned as one of the finest printmakers of the eighteenth century, Giovanni Battista Piranesi (1720-1778) is best known for his etched views of Rome and its antiquities, as well as for his highly influential suite of drawings entitled Carceri, or Imaginary Prisons. Trained as an architect, Piranesi revolutionized architecture and design through his combination of decorative elements and ornamental motifs from the Egyptian, Etruscan, Greek and Roman styles; yet his work as the designer of interiors and furnishings has been largely uncelebrated until now. Published in conjunction with a major exhibition at the Smithsonian's Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, in 2007, Piranesi as Designer features ten accessible essays and more than 300 rare illustrations that explore the far-reaching impact of Piranesi's style on three centuries of architecture and design.

Piranesi's name is usually connected with intriguing and mysterious etchings, but Giambattisa Piranesi (1720-1778) was also influential as an architect and decorative arts designer. This book examines his work, theories, and impact on the design of architecture and the decorative arts, and it is written by a widely recognized authority on Piranesi. This book, although short, is an in-depth study of Piranesi and his work in these fields, with discussions of his background and the influences on him, as well as how his designs evolved and became influential throughout Britain and Europe. As only one of Piranesi's architectural designs was ever actually executed, his significance as an architect ultimately rests on his extensive graphic production and his polemical publications, both of which are shown in this book to have been tremendously influential. This volume is copublished with The Pierpont Morgan Library New York, using many of its outstanding collection of Piranesi drawings and etchings.

Layers / by Heather Hyde Minor -- Lost and found / by Carolyn Yerkes -- Pages / by Carolyn Yerkes -- Dedicated and sent / by Heather Hyde Minor -- Bound / by Heather Hyde Minor -- Sold / by Carolyn Yerkes.

A new exploration of Piranesi’s work as a draftsman, published to coincide with an exhibition at the British Museum. The Venetian-born artist Giovanni Battista Piranesi (1720–1778) is best known for his dramatic etchings of the architecture and antiquities of his adopted home city of Rome and for his extraordinary flights of spatial fancy, such as Le Carceri (“Prisons”). Published to coincide with an exhibition at the British Museum, this volume explores Piranesi’s celebrated skill as a draftsman. While many studies are concerned with Piranesi’s activities as a printmaker, this beautifully illustrated book examines new dimensions of his art by focusing on his drawings. Curator and author Sarah Vowles establishes a clear relationship between his drawings and prints, discusses the involvement of studio hands in his late works, and examines how his style as a draftsman evolved. Piranesi Drawings reveals the quality and lasting impact of the pen and chalk studies by a remarkably talented draftsman, as demonstrated by the superb collection at the British Museum.

An impassioned plea for a Roman-Style eclecticism that draws freely on all artistic forms and traditions, Piranesi's Observations anticipates the contemporary debate between devotees of a rational, minimal architecture and advocates of an architecture rich in ornament and historical references."--BOOK JACKET.

Reprinted from rare, expensive first and second editions, this version of Piranesi's masterwork presents side-by-side renderings of original and extensively revised drawings in a large format. 33 full-page illustrations.