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Della Magnificenza e d'Architettura de' Romani (On the Grandeur and the Architecture of the Romans by Gio. Battista Piranesi, Fellow of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of London)

1761, 1765
Not on view
Giovanni Battista Piranesi's 'Della Magnificenza e d'Architettura de' Romani' was a contribution to the continuing debate as to whether Greek art and architecture was superior to that of Rome. In the 1750s, intellectual circles were increasingly in favor of Greece. Piranesi had completed 'Le Antichità Romane' in 1756-1757 and when Julien-David Le Roy published 'Les ruines des plus beaux monuments de la Grece' in 1758, Piranesi responded with Della Magnificenza. In his publication Piranesi argues in favor of Roman architectural ornament by drawing comparisons with specific examples from Le Roy's text. This is why many of the plates in this volume contain visual and text references to Le Roy.
Also in this volume is Piranesi's response to the French critic Pierre-Jean Mariette (1694-1774). On November 4 1764, Mariette published a letter in the Gazette Littéraire de l'Europe, in which he argues against the ideas expressed in Della Magnificenza. Mariette considered Roman art to have Greek origins. Piranesi's response to his views was published in 1765, in which writing in the third person, he defends the artistic originality of the Romans.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Della Magnificenza e d'Architettura de' Romani (On the Grandeur and the Architecture of the Romans by Gio. Battista Piranesi, Fellow of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of London)
  • Series/Portfolio: Della Magnificenza e d'Architettura de'Romani
  • Artist: Giovanni Battista Piranesi (Italian, Mogliano Veneto 1720–1778 Rome)
  • Artist: Domenico Cunego (Italian, Verona 1727–1803 Rome)
  • Date: 1761, 1765
  • Medium: Etchings and engravings
  • Dimensions: Overall: 22 1/16 x 16 3/4 x 2 3/4 in. (56 x 42.5 x 7 cm)
  • Classifications: Albums, Prints
  • Credit Line: Rogers Fund, transferred from the Library
  • Object Number: 41.71.1.7
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

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Various Roman Ionic capitals compared with Greek examples from Le Roy [S. Maria in Trastevere, S. Paoplo fuori le Mura, S. Clemente, etc.], tab. 20 from "Della Magnificenza e d'Architettura de'Romani" (On the Grandeur and the Architecture of the Romans by Gio. Battista Piranesi, Fellow of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of London), Giovanni Battista Piranesi Italian, Etching
Various Roman Ionic capitals compared with Greek examples from Le Roy [S. Maria in Trastevere, S. Paoplo fuori le Mura, S. Clemente, etc.], tab. 20 from "Della Magnificenza e d'Architettura de'Romani" (On the Grandeur and the Architecture of the Romans by Gio. Battista Piranesi, Fellow of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of London)
Giovanni Battista Piranesi
mid-18th century
Second Title Page (Italian text), from "Della Magnificenza e d'Architettura de'Romani" (On the Grandeur and the Architecture of the Romans by Gio. Battista Piranesi, Fellow of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of London)
Giovanni Battista Piranesi
1761
Frontispiece: Portrait of Pope Clement XIII, from "Della Magnificenza e d'Architettura de'Romani" (On the Grandeur and the Architecture of the Romans by Gio. Battista Piranesi, Fellow of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of London)
Domenico Cunego
Giovanni Battista Piranesi
1761
First Title Page, from "Della Magnificenza e d'Architettura de'Romani" (On the Grandeur and the Architecture of the Romans by Gio. Battista Piranesi, Fellow of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of London)
Giovanni Battista Piranesi
1761
Dedication: Ornamental Capital "V" with papal tiara and keys, from "Della Magnificenza e d'Architettura de'Romani" (On the Grandeur and the Architecture of the Romans by Gio. Battista Piranesi, Fellow of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of London)
Giovanni Battista Piranesi
1761

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