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Piranesi, Basilica di S. Maria Maggiore Lithograph

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles Start Price:100.00 USD Estimated At:400.00 - 800.00 USD
Piranesi, Basilica di S. Maria Maggiore Lithograph
Featured in this lot is the "Veduta interna della Basilica di S. Maria Maggiore", by Giovanni Battista Piranesi, 1768, etching lithograph. Translated, "Interior view of the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore" from Piranesi's "Vedute di Roma ( Views of Rome). Giovanni Battista Piranesi (1720-1778), one of the greatest printmakers of the eighteenth century, was an Italian classical archaeologist, architect, and artist, famous for his etchings of Rome and of fictitious and atmospheric "prisons". In his Views of Rome (Vedute di Roma), a series of copperplate engravings, the artist, architect, author, and antiquarian Giovanni Battista Piranesi portrayed the monuments of the Eternal City and its environs not just with precision and splendor, but as part of a living landscape. Piranesi began his monumental work, Vedute di Roma (Views of Rome) in around 1748, producing 137 plates of views of contemporary Rome. This wood framed etching lithograph is in very nice condition, the professional mounted neo-classical style silver gilt wood frame is in good condition. Visible art measures approximately 15.75"W x 25.75"L, frame 27"W x 37"L x 1.5"D, weight 12lb, 12oz.