Piranesi’s Rome

Views of the Eternal City

A memory of Rome, its statesmen, philosophers, and most prominently, its architects, is preserved nowhere better in America than in Washington, D.C. It is fitting that the Luther W. Brady Gallery in the heart of D.C. is exhibiting Piranesi's Rome: Views of the Eternal City, highlighting the masterful etchings and engravings by the renowned eighteenth-century artist Giovanni Battista Piranesi in The George Washington University's collection. 

Piranesi (1720-1778) was a Venetian artist renowned for his works depicting Ancient Rome's architectural marvels. As the son of a stonemason and master builder, Piranesi was destined to capture the grandeur and inevitable decay of Rome, and indeed, no one was better suited for this endeavor. Piranesi spent the first twenty years of his life studying architecture and stage design in Venice and considered himself an architect, consistently signing his work “architetto.” He initially apprenticed under his uncle, receiving practical training in structural and hydraulic engineering. This very background in architecture and technical knowledge set Piranesi’s work apart. 
 

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