A fine album of four works by the Italian architect Giovanni Battista Piranesi (1720-1778), 'the great engraver who was the interpreter and virtually the inventor of Rome's tragic beauty' (Marguerite Yorcenar). Comprising the second editions of the Opere varie and Carceri d'invenzione, and the fist editions of Trofei di Ottaviano Augusto, and Antichita Romane de' Tempe della Republica.

The album commences with the second edition of the Opere varie

and Carceri d'invenzione, and the first of Trofei di Ottaviano Augusto and Antichita Romane.

Opere varie: title in red and black with engraved vignette (Robison's second issue), Prima Parte, second edition, second issue, engraved frontispiece (Robison's fourth state),16 plates (complete); 10 plates on 5 sheets from Opere varie [Wilton-Ely 45-50]; 2 single plates: Pianta di ampio magnifico Collegio: a single plate, third state (of seven) [Robison 25] & Partie diamplo magnifico Porto: a single plate, fourth state (of 8) [Robison 26]. These two plates unnumbered (later versions of the 1781 issue of these plates have numbers added (see Hind p. 81); Grotteschi: 4 plates. Second or third states [Robison 21-24]

Carceri: second edition, second issue, double-page engraved title and 15 double-page plates (numbered II-XVI)

Trofei di Ottaviano Augusto, first edition. Rome: G. G. Salmoni, 1753, title in red and black with engraved vignette, 8 (of 9) unnumbered plates, 4 double-page, lacking one plate (the view of the Castello, title spotted

Antichita Romane de' Republica, first edition (1748). 30 engraved plates (including title, dedication, and 2 plates of inscriptions). Contemporary half vellum, marbled boards, edges decorated in red; minor repairs, some minor wear.

A very fine album of four works by Giovanni Battista Piranesi (1720-1778), "the great engraver who was the interpreter and virtually the inventor of Rome's tragic beauty" (Marguerite Yorcenar). The album commences with the second edition (1761) of Opere varie di architettura, prospettive, grotteschi, antichita, which contains some of Piranesi's most imaginative work, The artist himself has left us a statement of purpose for the undertaking: "When I realized that in Rome the majority of the ancient monuments were lying forsaken in fields or gardens, or even now serving as a quarry for new structures, I resolved to preserve their memory with the help of my engravings, I have therefore attempted to exercise the greatest possible exactitude," This does not mean, however, that the plates were conceived as exact
representations of ancient Rome. Andrew Robison has written in great detail concerning the influence of contemporary stage design on Piranesi's work. If the artist achieves the archaeological sublime, it is by following the example of dramatic theatricality. Each plate conjures up a vast and unforgettable tableau often peopled with actors dwarfed by their surroundings. The Opere varie is the perfect lead-in to the second and most remarkable work in the album, Carceri d'invenzione. Marguerite Yorcenar has asserted that the Imaginary Prisons "transform the substance of Rome into the irrational," It has been claimed that Piranesi conceived his prisons while suffering deliriums brought on by a fever. Without the artist's celebrated stage-set views of Rome, the phantasmagorical universe of the Prisons would not be possible. Like the Roman
views, these plates too are tableaux; in this case, conceived by a violent dreamer. The Carceri were not much admired during Piranesi's lifetime, but they cast a long shadow over future generations of artists and writers. Goya's Capricios and his late Black Paintings certainly bear the imprint of Piranesi, It was Victor Hugo who coined the phrase "the dark brain of Piranesi" in one of his poems. His influence in France
can be felt in Sade, Baudelaire, Rimbaud (A Season in Hell) and others; in America his obvious heir is Poe; in Britain, Walpole (The Castle of Otronto), Beckford (Vathek), Coleridge, DeQuincy (Confessions of an English Opiun-Eater). While DeQuincy never saw the Carceri, he has left a remarkable account of Coleridge describing the plates to him. In the 20th century, his influence on Kafka, Beckett, and many of the Surrealists is unmistakable. Perhaps the darkest example of the influence of the Carceri is the British architect George Dance, who was inspired by the plates to design the dungeons of Newgate Prison.

Piranesi created the Trofei de Ottavio Augusto as a guide for artists and architects, This is a work that clearly displays the engraver's fascination with archaeology and excavation in Rome. The items depicted are the Trophies of Marius. Piranesi believed that the trophies had originally been erected by Augustus Caesar to commemorate his victory at Actium. The splendid Antichita Romane de Tempi, seen here in the first edition of 1748, comprises 30 fine plates, made during Piranesi's various trips through Italy in 1743-47. The plates in the present album are exceptionally clean and the impressions are clear and vivid.

References: Robison: Prima Parte 1-4, 6-17; Grotteschi 21-24; single plates 25 & 26; title-page 28; Carceri 29-44. Opere vari: Focillon 2-13, 17-18, 20-23, and 121-132; Hind pp 78-81 ('later edition B'); Carceri: Focillon 24-39; Hind pp 24-29, 81 ('about 1761'); Trofei: Focillon 134, 136-143; Hind pp 82-83; Antichita Romane: Focillon 41-71; Hind pp75-76; Wilton-Ely 103-133.




Four works bound in 1 vol.; folio (56 x 42 cm); bookplates (one partially erased) and ownership inscription in pen to front pastedown, MS title on vellum tipped-in to foot of front pastedown; [Opere] second edition, second issue, title in red and black with engraved vignette (Robison second issue), 10 plates on 5 sheets (Wilton-Ely 45-50) bound after Prima Parte, second edition, second issue, engraved frontispiece (Robison fourth state) and 16 plates (complete), 2 unnumbered double-page plates (later versions of the 1781 issue of these plates have numbers added (see Hind p.81): Pianta di ampio magnifico Collegio (Robison 25, third state), and Parte di ampio magnifico Porto (Robison 26, fourth state), Grotteschi, second/third states (Robison 21-24), 4 double-page plates