May 08, 2018 - Sale 2477

Sale 2477 - Lot 195

Price Realized: $ 1,950
?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 2,000 - $ 3,000
GIOVANNI B. PIRANESI
The Tomb of Nero.

Etchings with engraving, drypoint and burnishing, circa 1747-49. 392x555 mm; 15 1/2x22 inches, wide margins. Fifth state (of 6). Robison's Third Edition, issued from circa 1790 to circa 1835. From the Grotteschi. A very good impression of this scarce etching with strong contrasts.

According to Robison, "The four large, horizontal plates Piranesi called the Grotteschi depict evocative mélanges of ancient bones and artifacts associating human, cultural and architectural decay. Because of what is frequently seen as their Tiepoloesque character, the Grotteschi have long been considered Piranesi's most Venetian prints, and scholars have believed their production was closely connected with the artist's trip home to Venice (late 1740s)." Robison 23.