1. By Xingzhou Chen, Samuel Berry, Rachel Mataira, Sophia Falefa, Ben Hutton
and Hunter Mulder

2. • Born on 4th October, 1720 in Mestre, near Vince Italy.
• Died on 9th November, 1778 in Rome.
• Was a Italian draftsman, printmaker, architect and art theorist.
• At the age of 20 he went to rome and worked as a draftsman for the Venetian ambassador. He studied under the leading print
makers of the time and during this time developed his orignal etching technique.
• Piranesi was influenced by his uncle who was employed by the Venetian water works. And his brother who was a monk got piranesi
interested in architecture.
• He was the apprentice of Giuseppe Vasi the foremost producer of etchings depicting Rome
• Piranesi was educated by his father a master builder and stone mason who gave him a indepth background in building before
moving to Rome.
• Thompson, W. "Giovanni Battista Piranesi (1720–1778) ". (October 2003). In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The
Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/pira/hd_pira.htm
References
• “Giovanni Battista Piranesi”. Retrieved from http://www.getty.edu/art/gettyguide/artMakerDetails?maker=815
• Giovanni Battista Piranesi. (2013). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved from http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/461526/Giovanni-Battista-Piranesi

3. This brother was an extreme influence
which is extremely interesting as it was First set of 14 plates in 1740’s
an extrinsic motivation which initiated 2000 plates
his enthusiasm
He has the ability to make Started his study in Rome and
buildings seem bigger than Was not a well regarded settled there permanently. In
they actually were and added architect, however his this time he developed his
his own imagination into imaginary views had a large traits, which made him the
them to create brilliant works impact on other designers and prominent artist that he was.
of art. painters

4. • Andrea, his brother, introduced the Latin and the ancient civilization to him when he was young. His brother is the first person
who teach Piranesi knowledge when he was a child.
• Matteo Lucchesi (1705-1776), his uncle, was an architect and a Venetian engineer who specialized in excavation, teach
Piranesi to understand the means of masonry construction- scaffolding, winches, hawsers, pulleys and chains – that stayed with
him the rest of his life. Matteo Lucchesi was the abecedarian for Piranesi. He was plays an important role to influence Piranesi’s
art creation.
• Giuseppe Vasi (27 August1710 – 16 April 1782), was an Italian engraver and architect, best known for his vedute, who
introduced Piranesi to the art of etching and engraving. Vasi was famous for his vedute genre, the same as Piranesi. He plays a
most important role for Piranesi’s art creation, especially in the etching and Vesute genre areas.
• Giovanni Battista Tiepolo (March 5, 1696 – March 27, 1770), was an Italian painter and printmaker from the Republic of
Venice. He was prolific, and worked not only in Italy, but also in Germany and Spain. From 1743 to 1747, Giovanni Battista
Piranesi sojourned mainly in Venice and frequented him according to some sources. He gave Piranesi a lot of inspiration in his
art creation and also influenced him.
References
• Piranesi, Giovanni Battista. & Ficacci, Luigi. (2000) Giovanni Battista Piranesi: the complete etchings. London, Koln: Taschen.
• Mayor, A. H. & Piranesi, G. B. (1952) Giovanni Battista Piranesi / by A. Hyatt Mayor. New York: H. Bittner.

5. Piranesi.G.B. (1748-78) View of the Temple of the Sibyl in
Tivoli, [Etching.] London. Retrieved from Victoria and Albert
Museum online database.
http://www.oxfordartonline.com.helicon.vuw.ac.nz/subscriber/a
rticle/img/grove/art/F016049?q=giovanni+piranesi+&search=q
uick&type=image&pos=1&_start=1#firsthit

6. Piranesi.G.B (1776) Veduta dell’Anfiteatro Flavio detto il Colosseo
(View of the Flavian Amphitheater known as the
Colosseum), [Etching.] New York. Retrieved from
http://www.oxfordartonline.com.helicon.vuw.ac.nz/subscriber/articl
e/img/grove/art/F021675?q=giovanni+Piranesi&search=quick&typ
e=image&pos=2&_start=1#firsthit

7. Piranesi, G. B (1770). Veduta Interna Della Basillica di S. Giovanni Laterano [etching]. Royal College of Art.
Retrieved from VADS Image database www.vads.ac.uk.

8. Piranesi, G. B (1745). Carceri Series Plate XIV [etching]. Retrieved from
http://fosterartprogramblog.org/2012/10

9. Piranesi, G. B (1760 – 1770). The smoking fire plate VI from the Carceri d'Invenzioni (Imaginary prisons) series [
etching] Rome. Retrieved from National Gallery of Victoria http://www.ngc.vic.gov.au//

10. “His influence, then, is subtler than a mere taking up of the past; it lies in the spirit
in which that heritage was taken up,” (Kirk, 2006).
•Brown (2007) believes the compositional characteristics of 20th-century modernism were a direct result of Piranesi’s hallmarks; dramatic
transitions of scale, illogical spatial relations and image compression.
•A number of distinguished modern architects have spoken of Piranesi’s impact on their work. Piranesi’s experimentation with the
malleability of form, use of multiple sources in a single composition and simply demonstrating a free license of creativity to unveil
unlimited possibilities “is seen as the natural legacy inherited by these contemporaries.” (Brown, 2007).
•Non-specifically, Piranesi’s work, described as “macabre ecstasy” (Jones, 2002), has inspired such modern works as London’s
Underground Jubilee Line, the film Blade Runner, Tate Modern and probably most familiarly the moving staircases in
Hogwarts, according to Jones.
References
•Kirk, T. (2006). Piranesi’s Poetic License: His Influence on Modern Italian Architecture.
http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/4238475?uid=3738776&uid=369171391&uid=2134&uid=2&uid=70&uid=3&uid=60&sid=21102119940977
•Brown, B. (Sep 27, 2007). The Father of Modern Design. Retrieved from The New York Sun: http:/www.nysun.com/arts/father-of-modern-design/63482/
• Jones, J. (Nov 6, 2002). No Way Out. Retrieved from The Guardian: http://www.nysun.com/arts/father-
of- modern-design/63482/

11. • Early History – Samuel Berry
• Interesting Stuff – Rachel Mataira
• Influences - Xingzhou Chen
• Photos – Sophia Falefa
• Modern Influence - Ben Hutton
• Referencing – Hunter Mulder