GIOVANNI BATTISTA PIRANESI | Carceri d’Invenzione (Robison 29-44)

The complete set, comprising 16 etchings with engraving and drypoint, circa 1749-61, rich, atmospheric to good impressions, some plates showing a little wear in the densely hatched areas, R. 29 VII/IX, R. 43 IV/VI, both from the contemporary Second Edition, Third Issue, published by the artist, Rome, with the Roman numerals and R. 29 before the second round of re-work; R. 33 V/VI, R. 37 VI/VII, R. 38 and R. 39 V/VI, R. 41 VI/VII, R. 44 II/III, all from the Second Edition, Second Issue, through early printings of the Fifth Edition early 1760s to circa 1835; R. 30 and R. 31 V/VI, R. 32 VI/VII, R. 34 V/VI, R. 35 VII/VIII, R. 36, R. 40 and R. 42 V/VI, from early printings of the Fifth Edition, 1835-1839, on paper with watermark combined Initial TF (Robison watermark 93), dated mid-1830s, the sheets loose, contained in two leather-bound cases

With full margins, in good condition, with soiling and staining along the sheet edges, faint stray fox marks in the margins, Plate I with a few pale water stains visible in raking light (a printer's crease in the lower margin), Plate V with a couple of printer's creases below and to the right of the plate, Plate X with handling creases near sheet edges, Plate XII with a soft diagonal crease at the bottom right corner, and Plate XIII with more apparent soiling and staining at the bottom right corner.
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Giovanni Battista Piranesi is said to have declared, “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.”  With his Carceri d’Invenzione, the artist did just that, illustrating an imaginary prison that still inspires authors and architects today.   Hailing from Venice, Piranesi followed his passion for design to Rome, where he made a name for himself producing etchings and engraving that captured Roman grandeur. Though Grand Tourists viewed him as an authority on the city and its history, Piranesi’s renderings are best described as capricci, or architectural fantasies.  Perhaps inspired by his fellow Venetian Canaletto, the printmaker embellished upon romantic ruins, adding flourishes and placing them wherever he willed.  The Carceri are unique amongst his vast oeuvre of capricci in that they have no basis in reality, but rather demonstrate the full potential of Piranesi’s wild imagination.      This complete portfolio of the Second through Fifth Editions of the series is testament to the artist’s inventive imagination and mastery of printmaking techniques.  The shadowy depths of these re-worked chambers, achieved through a sophisticated amalgamation of sulphur tint, scratching, burnishing, and drypoint, create a dark mystique that outshines the softer atmosphere of the First Edition.  Pleased with his improvements to his own work, Piranesi proudly took ownership of this second iteration, firmly “carving” his name and preferred title— G Battista Piranesi archit Vene —in stone on the frontispiece.