Fantasy of a Façade with Bizarre Ornaments

1764/1766

Giovanni Battista Piranesi

Associated Names
Giovanni Battista Piranesi

Artist, Venetian, 1720 - 1778

This is a drawing of an ornate architectural structure with sculptural decorations. The image depicts an elaborately decorated facade or possibly a section of a classical building, featuring highly detailed carvings and artistic elements. The drawing shows several layers of ornamental moldings, friezes with human figures, and various architectural elements like pilasters and capitals adorned with intricate floral and scrollwork designs. Central to the composition is a prominent medallion with the profile of a head, surrounded by lion sculptures and other decorative motifs. The lower section includes detailed floral designs and figures in medallions, showcasing a rich and complex interplay of artistic elements.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    pen and dark brown ink with brown wash over black chalk on laid paper

  • Credit Line

    Woodner Collection

  • Dimensions

    overall: 60.1 x 47.2 cm (23 11/16 x 18 9/16 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1991.182.17

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Purchased from the artist by Joseph Rose, Rome, March 1770; presented to Sir Christopher Sykes (1749-1801), Sledmere; private collection (sale, London, Christie's, 4 July 1989); purchased by Ian Woodner, New York; by inheritance to his daughters, Andrea and Dian Woodner, New York, 1990; gift to NGA, 1991.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1989

  • Old Master Drawings, Christie, Manson, and Woods, LTD., London, 1989, 60-65.

1995

  • The Touch of the Artist: Master Drawings from the Woodner Collections, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1995-1996, no. 84.

1997

  • Building a Collection, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1997-1998, no. 59, as A Facade with Bizarre Ornaments.

2000

  • Art for the Nation: Collecting for a New Century, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 2000-2001, 186.

2006

  • Master Drawings from the Woodner Collections, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 2006 - 2007.

2014

  • The Poetry of Light - La poesia della luce: Venetian Drawings from the National Gallery of Art, Museo Correr, Venice, Venice, 2014 - 2015, no. 93.

2017

  • The Woodner Collections: Master Drawings from Seven Centuries, NGA, 2017.

Bibliography

1995

  • The Touch of the Artist. Exh. cat. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1995: 302-305.

2000

  • Art for the Nation: Collecting for a New Century. Exh. cat. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 2000: 186-187.

2002

  • Robison, Andrew. "Piranesi's Later Drawings of Architectural Fantasies," Giovanni Battista Piranesi-Die Wahrnehmung von Raum und Zeit. Akten des internationalen Symposiums Staatsgalerie Stuttgart 25. bis 26. Juni 1999. Marburg, 2000: 53-54, 56-57, 60, fig. 4.

Inscriptions

upper left in brown ink: Piranesi. f.; by later hand, lower right in brown ink: Bought of Piranesi / in Rome March 1770 / by Joseph Rose

Wikidata ID

Q64572348

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