PIRANESI, Giovanni Battista (1720-1788)

[Plate of a neo-Classical fireplace, from "Diverse maniere d'adornare i cammini ed ogni altra parte degli edifizi".

[31] [Rome: mid-1770s - 1790]. Etched plate, on laid paper, by Piranesi. In good condition with large margins. Sheet size: 14 7/8 x 20 7/8 inches.

A fine impression of one of Piranesi's imaginative chimneypiece designs, showing his neoclassical vocabulary applied on an intimate, domestic scale.

The composition presents a monumental fireplace framed by tall caryatid figures standing on richly carved pedestals, supporting a heavy entablature whose frieze is strung with masks, medallions, and scrolling ornament. Within the dark firebox a single plume of smoke rises dramatically, flanked by elaborate andirons in the form of seated figures, so that even the fire itself becomes part of the ornamental display. Issued as part of Diverse maniere d'adornare i cammini, this plate belongs to Piranesi's celebrated series of designs for chimneypieces and interior fittings, in which he drew on Egyptian, Etruscan, Greek, and Roman sources to argue for a more inventive, archaeologically informed approach to modern design. In an essay in Diverse maniere, Piranesi insists that "an artist, who would do himself honour, and acquire a name, must not content himself with copying faithfully the ancients, but studying their works he ought to show himself of an inventive, and, I had almost said, of a creating Genius," a principle clearly on display here in the bold mixture of sculptural figures, antique motifs, and theatrical handling of light and shadow. Although a small number of Piranesi's chimneypieces are known to have been executed, for example the marble mantel incorporating ancient fragments made for the Amsterdam banker John Hope and the design associated with Abbondio Rezzonico, most of the fireplaces in Diverse maniere appear to have remained on paper, including the present design, for which no realised example is recorded.

Ficacci 655; Focillon 891; Wilton-Ely 843; Hind p. 86.

Item #20509

Price: $500.00