# Giovanni Battista Piranesi

Italian, 1720–1778; born in Mogliano Veneto; died in Rome

Piranesi trained in Venice as an architect and stage designer before moving to Rome in 1740, where he spent the rest of his life. He is known above all for his etchings: the Views of Rome, more than a hundred large plates of ancient ruins and modern buildings, and the Imaginary Prisons, vast fantastical interiors of stairs, arches and machinery. A passionate champion of Roman architecture, he also published archaeological studies and designed the church of Santa Maria del Priorato.

_Written by Ochre Editions._

4 works in the collection.

- [The Lion Bas-Reliefs, plate 5 from Imaginary Prisons](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/the-lion-bas-reliefs-plate-5-from-imaginary-prisons-aic-7353), Giovanni Battista Piranesi, 1761. Courtesy of Art Institute of Chicago.
- [View of the Remains of the Praetorian Fort \[the Poecile\], Hadrian's Villa, Tivoli, from Views of Rome](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/view-of-the-remains-of-the-praetorian-fort-the-poecile-hadri-aic-48121), Giovanni Battista Piranesi, 1770. Courtesy of Art Institute of Chicago.
- [View of the Villa of His Eminence Cardinal Alessandro Albani, outside Porta Salaria, from Views of Rome](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/view-of-the-villa-of-his-eminence-cardinal-alessandro-albani-aic-48151), Giovanni Battista Piranesi, 1769, published 1800–07. Courtesy of Art Institute of Chicago.
- [The Round Tower, from "Carceri d'invenzione" (Imaginary Prisons)](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/the-round-tower-from-carceri-d-invenzione-imaginary-prisons-met-337725), Giovanni Battista Piranesi, ca. 1749–50. Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art.