Giovanni Piranesi Print, View of the Roman Colosseum (1760) in Black Wood Frame

A quality lithograph of Giovanni Piranesi’s famous engraving of the Roman Colosseum from 1760. Simply matted in antique white and enclosed in a black wood frame.

Printmaker, engraver, and antiquarian Giovanni Battista Piranesi once said: “I need to produce great ideas, and I believe that if I were commissioned to design a new universe, I would be mad enough to undertake it.” This would prove an apt description of the fantastical architectural prints he became famous for. An ardent lover of Roman, Greek, and Egyptian architecture, Piranesi was the son of a stonemason and builder, and first studied drawing with his uncle, an engineer. (In fact, Piranesi considered himself an architect.) His drawings and etchings demonstrate a sophisticated ability in manipulating perspective and architectural elements for dramatic effect. Piranesi’s subjects not only included imaginings of ancient buildings, but also ominous prisons and mysterious ruins. His works were so popular that the prints were sold to Grand Tourists even after his death.