Lot Essay
Although this design cannot be related to any known work by Piranesi, Dr. Andrew Robison has pointed out that this may be a project for the decoration of a room such as those in the Palace of Pope Clement XIII's nephew Cardinal Giovanni Battista Rezzonico on Via de'Prefetti in Rome.
It was not until the 1760s that Piranesi, having established a reputation as a vedutista and an archeologist, was able to fulfill his ambitions as an architect. In 1758 Carlo della Torre Rezzonico was elected Pope Clement XIII. As a Venetian, he was to favour his compatriots and in particular Piranesi. In 1763 he commissioned Piranesi to add an altar to the nave of the Basilica of San Giovanni in Laterano begun by Francesco Borromini. The next year the Pope's nephew Cardinal Rezzonico asked Piranesi to restore Santa Maria del Priorato, the church of the Order of Malta, of which he was Grand Master.
Under the patronage of the Rezzonico family, Piranesi turned his attention to interior decoration and furniture design. In 1769 he dedicated to Cardinal Rezzonico the Diverse maniere d'adornare i cammini and decorated Castel Gandolfo for the Pope and the Palazzo Senatorio for one of the Pope's nephews.
The present design is a project for the decoration of a room with a dome. The recto shows the room with two doors and another opening onto a staircase. The wall is adorned with a pot-à-feu and a frieze of figures holding garlands between medallions. The vaulted ceiling has been transformed into a coffered ceiling by the addition of white heightening. A small sketch of octagonal shape on the upper part of the sheet links the recto to the oval ceiling drawn on the verso, which has octagonal coffering. The project of the ceiling presents an alternative to a rectangular shape and interestingly shows the influence of Borromini's design for the oval ceiling of San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane in Rome.
It was not until the 1760s that Piranesi, having established a reputation as a vedutista and an archeologist, was able to fulfill his ambitions as an architect. In 1758 Carlo della Torre Rezzonico was elected Pope Clement XIII. As a Venetian, he was to favour his compatriots and in particular Piranesi. In 1763 he commissioned Piranesi to add an altar to the nave of the Basilica of San Giovanni in Laterano begun by Francesco Borromini. The next year the Pope's nephew Cardinal Rezzonico asked Piranesi to restore Santa Maria del Priorato, the church of the Order of Malta, of which he was Grand Master.
Under the patronage of the Rezzonico family, Piranesi turned his attention to interior decoration and furniture design. In 1769 he dedicated to Cardinal Rezzonico the Diverse maniere d'adornare i cammini and decorated Castel Gandolfo for the Pope and the Palazzo Senatorio for one of the Pope's nephews.
The present design is a project for the decoration of a room with a dome. The recto shows the room with two doors and another opening onto a staircase. The wall is adorned with a pot-à-feu and a frieze of figures holding garlands between medallions. The vaulted ceiling has been transformed into a coffered ceiling by the addition of white heightening. A small sketch of octagonal shape on the upper part of the sheet links the recto to the oval ceiling drawn on the verso, which has octagonal coffering. The project of the ceiling presents an alternative to a rectangular shape and interestingly shows the influence of Borromini's design for the oval ceiling of San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane in Rome.