Piranesi's Grandest Tour

Themajestic works of eighteenth-century Italian printmaker Giovanni BattistaPiranesi have never ceased to inspire artists, printmakers and architects.

Piranesiis famous for his etchings of real and imaginary buildings - Roman ruins,baroque cityscapes and fantastical prisons. Here, his life and art isreassessed, along with the complex world of his son, Francesco, whose promotionof his father's work was overshadowed by allegations of espionage. Thebook also reveals...
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Themajestic works of eighteenth-century Italian printmaker Giovanni BattistaPiranesi have never ceased to inspire artists, printmakers and architects.

Piranesiis famous for his etchings of real and imaginary buildings - Roman ruins,baroque cityscapes and fantastical prisons. Here, his life and art isreassessed, along with the complex world of his son, Francesco, whose promotionof his father's work was overshadowed by allegations of espionage. Thebook also reveals the story of the Australian collectors of Piranesi's work andhis influence on our artists, from Russell Drysdale to Rick Amor and MarcoLuccio.

Colin Holden is a social historian and has curated exhibitions at the National Gallery of Victoria, State Library of Victoria and Geelong Art Gallery. He was awarded a Redmond Barry Fellowship by the State Library of Victoria and the University of Melbourne to research this book and the associated exhibition.

Colin Holden writes about the connection of several Australian artists and some of our major cultural collections that are linked with the works of great eighteenth-century Italian printmaker Giovanni Battista Piranesi in this short extract.