Giovanni Battista Piranesi

Piranesi is one of Italy’s most extraordinary artists. From his detailed etchings of Rome to the dark imaginings of his fictitious prisons.

Born in Mogliano Veneto near Treviso (then part of the Republic of Venice), Piranesi was the son of a Venetian stonemason. But it was his uncle, Matteo Lucchesi – a leading architect, who taught Piranesi to draw, and to design architectural structures. 

In 1740, the young Piranesi travelled to Rome where he lived and worked for almost all his life. In Rome he began creating Le Vedute di Roma and Carceri d’Invenzione.