Antique 'School of Piranesi' Copper Engraving: Veduta di un Sepolcro (View of an Ancient Tomb) outside Rome
18th c. Piranesi Copper Engraving: Veduta di un Sepolcro (View of an Ancient Tomb--or--View of a Colossal Pillar-like Monument) near the Lugano Bridge along the road toward Tivoli. Giovanni Battista Piranesi (1720-1778), a famous archeologist, architect, antiquarian and artist founded what became an extremely well-known family workshop in Rome. As a family, Piranesi together with his children Francesco and Laura, ran a spectacular print workshop in Rome that focused on the promotion of the ruins and the classical architecture and design of Ancient Rome. Their engravings were made for both 18th c. aristocratic visitors who came to Rome to learn about Antiquity as part of "The Grand Tour" as well as for Romans and Italians interested in Antiquity. The family then had many disciples and a group of followers who continued their print-making tradition in Rome.

This engraving features a colossal ancient tomb--or perhaps a decorative monumental pillar--once found near the Lugano Bridge and along on the road toward Tivoli. The monument features a relief sculpture on its top section; if it is not a tomb, the monument could have been one of the four "gran pilastri" (grandiose decorative vertical pillar-like monuments) that marked the entrance to Emperor Hadrian's Villa. The name of the maker of the print reads on the print itself: "Piranesi Architetto dis. e scol." (so the print was made by the 'discepoli e scuola' of Architetto Piranesi, i.e. the followers of Piranesi).
16" x 24"; framed dimensions: 28" x 36"

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