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Lot Essay
This is one of the most spectacular figure studies by Piranesi known today. Rarely are they as large, nor do they represent as many figures, as quite often the sheets have later been cut into as many parts as there were figures.
These studies are not academic drawings like those made early in Piranesi’s career, nor are they preparatory studies, for very few are ever copied directly into his plates, although the views are peppered with figures closely akin to those in many drawings. Instead the drawings seem to be the working of a restless hand and a curious mind, a sort of artistic tinkering as Piranesi constantly sketched those before him every day. In the present drawing, as in many other studies, the artist seems to have represented printers in his own workshop, as the figure on the left, clad in apron and rolled up sleeves, seems to be working on a plate.
The present drawing seems to be a perfect illustration of Hylton Thomas' (op. cit., p. 26) characterization of Piranesi’s figure studies: ‘the figures share one very notable trait – they are studies of movement. The human figure in action […] He built up dynamic masses of energy primarily by means of areas of parallel shading within the body, which is given strong direction in space by pose and jagged contours. He seldom finished extremities […] He distorted proportions as well. Hands are frequently considerably longer than heads are high. Heads are often so sketchily indicated that even their most important features – prominent noses and deeply shadowed eyes – can barely be discerned. The figures are unrealistic in some ways, but the expressive variations from the norm increase their liveliness’.
As is often the case with Piranesi’s figure studies, the present drawing was made on already used paper. As Andrew Robison has generously shared with us, 'there is a printed ‘III’ at the bottom left , showing it was originally the blank margin at the top of a large text page for a preface or dedication to a book. But the back was blank, so Piranesi used it to try out a new etching. The fragment of the etching on the verso is part of what became plate V in Piranesi’s Antichità di Cora (undated, but actually published in 1764). Comparing the fragment with an early copy of the first edition, makes it clear that this fragment is from an early proof state of the etching, before much rework and changes especially to the rear wall of the temple (fig. 1). After making such proofs, if Piranesi changed his plate a lot, he must have considered the proofs unsatisfactory because he would just cut them up to use as scrap paper’ (written communication 16 November 2025). Thus after cutting up this proof, he used the other side to draw his four figures.
We thank Andrew Robison for his help in cataloguing this drawing. He dates it to the mid-1760s.
Fig. 1. Giovanni Battista Piranesi, View of the interior of the pronaos of the Temple of Hercules, plate V, from Antichità di Cora, etching with engraving.
These studies are not academic drawings like those made early in Piranesi’s career, nor are they preparatory studies, for very few are ever copied directly into his plates, although the views are peppered with figures closely akin to those in many drawings. Instead the drawings seem to be the working of a restless hand and a curious mind, a sort of artistic tinkering as Piranesi constantly sketched those before him every day. In the present drawing, as in many other studies, the artist seems to have represented printers in his own workshop, as the figure on the left, clad in apron and rolled up sleeves, seems to be working on a plate.
The present drawing seems to be a perfect illustration of Hylton Thomas' (op. cit., p. 26) characterization of Piranesi’s figure studies: ‘the figures share one very notable trait – they are studies of movement. The human figure in action […] He built up dynamic masses of energy primarily by means of areas of parallel shading within the body, which is given strong direction in space by pose and jagged contours. He seldom finished extremities […] He distorted proportions as well. Hands are frequently considerably longer than heads are high. Heads are often so sketchily indicated that even their most important features – prominent noses and deeply shadowed eyes – can barely be discerned. The figures are unrealistic in some ways, but the expressive variations from the norm increase their liveliness’.
As is often the case with Piranesi’s figure studies, the present drawing was made on already used paper. As Andrew Robison has generously shared with us, 'there is a printed ‘III’ at the bottom left , showing it was originally the blank margin at the top of a large text page for a preface or dedication to a book. But the back was blank, so Piranesi used it to try out a new etching. The fragment of the etching on the verso is part of what became plate V in Piranesi’s Antichità di Cora (undated, but actually published in 1764). Comparing the fragment with an early copy of the first edition, makes it clear that this fragment is from an early proof state of the etching, before much rework and changes especially to the rear wall of the temple (fig. 1). After making such proofs, if Piranesi changed his plate a lot, he must have considered the proofs unsatisfactory because he would just cut them up to use as scrap paper’ (written communication 16 November 2025). Thus after cutting up this proof, he used the other side to draw his four figures.
We thank Andrew Robison for his help in cataloguing this drawing. He dates it to the mid-1760s.
Fig. 1. Giovanni Battista Piranesi, View of the interior of the pronaos of the Temple of Hercules, plate V, from Antichità di Cora, etching with engraving.