22 June – 29 September 2024

Giovanni Battista Piranesi: Vedute di Roma

House of the Graphic Arts Collection

The famous series of views of Rome by Giovanni Battista Piranesi shows historic buildings from antiquity to the Baroque. Impressively staged in terms of perspective and lighting, the monuments that still shape the face of the eternal city today convey much of its enduring grandeur. If you look closely, you will discover countless staffage figures in the foreground, capturing the bustling life on the streets. Because the prints were popular as souvenirs, the series continued to be added to over the years. Early prints from the Augustinian Museum's holdings complement two copper printing plates from the Calcografia Nazionale (Rome). They illustrate the work of the etcher and the technique. 

In cooperation with the Institute of Art History at the University of Freiburg.