pp. 164-8
At length finding his own position uncongenial, Francesco Piranesi, towards the middle of 1798, packed up the copper plates of his father's etchings and his working tools as a craftsman, and transferred his energies to Paris, going thither by sea. During the voyage the ship fell in with and was captured by a squadron under Sir Thomas Troubridge, which had become detached from Lord St. Vincent's fleet. Nelson was then at Naples on the Vanguard, and British ships were actively employed in that part of the Mediterranean in blockading ports so as to prevent supplies reaching the French troops. The captured ship containing Piranesi's property was an armed French brig laden for the most part with spoil taken by the French from the Italians. The name of Giovanni Piranesi and the fame of his etchings were evidently known to Admiral Troubridge, for he felt respect for the etchings sufficient to cause him to persuade the officers and men who had effected the capture to restore the copper plates to the son of the etcher. He further obtained from the French Government the concession that these plates should be admitted into France free of duty, and that Francesco Piranesi should be protected in his future possession of them. After Troubridge had succeeded in making these arrangements, Francesco came on board the Admiral's ship and received back his property. At the same time he presented to Troubridge a complete set of impressions.
This set of the etchings passed afterwards through the hands of several other owners, and eventually came into possession of Alderman Josiah Boydell, Master of the Stationers' Company, during the early years of the nineteenth century; Troubridge having found these etchings scarcely suitable for the cabin of a sea captain had, with the help of Tucker (Lord St. Vincent's secretary), exchanged them for a library of books more fitted for his purpose at sea, and the books thus received by him in exchange went down with him in the Blenheim.
At Paris, Francesco Piranesi devoted his energies to making casts from the Antique and to republishing his father's etchings, together with those which he himself had produced. He dedicated a portion of the impressions forming the edition to his patron Gustavus III, and this is the French edition of the etchings which is, as has already been explained, vastly inferior to the original Roman impressions.
It is to be regretted that Troubridge did not throw the copper plates overboard; it would have spared Piranesi's reputation from the violence that is still done to it by the coarse and spoiled impressions that were, from time to time, issued by any enterprising person who cared to hire the worn-out plates for a day's printing. Such impressions grossly misrepresent Piranesi's work. I believe these plates can still be hired.
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The French Government assisted Francesco, recognising that this publication was likely to be of national benefit, as indeed it was, though the benefit was not confined to France alone, because it caused Piranesi's work to be distributed and placed at the disposal of designers generally; but, none the less, Francesco achieved no financial success, and notwithstanding his Swedish annuity, some of his plates and moulds had to go. He was probably not in comfortable circumstances at the time of his death in January 1810, twelve years after leaving Rome, but the world of today has the satisfaction of knowing, now that the money is useless to Piranesi and to his son Francesco, that the public is willing to pay, for a pair of original impressions of certain of the father's etchings, as much as would have in his lifetime maintained both these men decently for perhaps a week.
p. 196
Piranesi, Francesco, Lettera . . . al Signor Generale Giovanni Acton (relating to his dealings with the Swedish Envoy at Naples, G. M. von Armfelt).
p. 198
Alcune Vedute di Archi Trionfali ed altri Monumenti inalzati da Romani parte de quali si veggono in Roma e parte per ritalia. Rome, 1748.
This has two extra plates, one at the commencement and one at the end. The first is presumably by Francesco, and
the last is signed by him. The border to the title is the same, but the borders to the dedication and two inscriptions in the
"Antichita" have been omitted in the "Alcune Vedute."
p. 200
Vedute di Roma. 2 vols.
Vol. 1. Map, title, and 69 plates. Vol. II. 68 plates, with allegorical plate usually inserted as title.
The Soane Museum copy has 2 interiors of St. Peter's engraved by Francesco which are not part of the "Vedute."
In 1751, 34 plates and the engraved "Vedute" title-page were published by Bouchard with the title " Le Magnificnze di Roma le piu remarcabili." This contains the allegorical plate described above.
Piranesi's first engraved catalogue in the possession of the publisher, and reproduced in this work (see Plate 3), gives an en- graved list of 60 plates, with further lines giving the names of 3 more in manuscript (presumably in Piranesi's own handwrit- ing), and bears date May 1761
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pp. 201-2
Le Antichità Romane. 4 vols.
1756. 216 plates = vol. i. 43; ii. 63; iii. 54; iv. 56.
1786. 218 plates = vol. i. 44; ii. 63; iii. 54; iv. 57.
The 1758 edition is often quoted as having 224 plates, this being due to the addition of the six "Monumenti degli Scipioni" in some copies.
The earlier copies of the four volumes issued in 1756 contained dedications to "Jacopo Caulfield Vicecomiti Charlemont." But for the reasons explained on p. 76 et seq. his name was suppressed in favour of that of Robert Adam. Thus copies containing the dedication to Lord Charlemont are rare. The second edition, issued by Francesco in 1786 after his father's death, has dedi- cations to Gustavus III. of Sweden.
The first edition contains the portrait of Piranesi by Polanzani, but in the second this is replaced by that by Guisseppe Cades, reproduced as a frontispiece to this volume.
pp. 205-9
Differentés vues de quelques restes des trois Grandes Edifices de Pesto dans la Lucanie.
Engraved title and 20 plates. 3 of these plates are signed, "Francesco Piranesi"; the remaining 17 are signed, Cav. Piranesi. This presumably means that these 17 plates were drawn and engraved by the son, but the author's views appear on p. 163.
Teatro di Ercolano. Rome, 1783.
Engraved title and 9 plates. (Francesco Piranesi.)
Monumenti degli Scipioni. Rome, 1785.
6 plates. (Francesco Piranesi.)
Raccolta de' Tempi Antichi (Sciographia Quatuor Templorum Veterum.) Prima Parte che comprehende i tempi di Vesta-madre ossia della Terra della Sibilla, e dell'onore e delle Vertu. Rome, 1776.
Engraved title and 22 plates. (Francesco Piranesi.)
Seconda Parte de' Tempi Antichi che contiene il celebre Panteon. Rome, 1790.
Letterpress title with small engraving and 29 plates. (Francesco Piranesi.)
In many copies plates i., vii. to ix., and xxix. are wanting, presumably due to these not having been issued in the earlier copies.
Statue Antiche.
41 plates. (Francesco Piranesi.)
Piranesi's letterpress catalogue (see Bibliography, p. 196) gives a list of 52 plates, but only 32 are marked with an asterisk as having then appeared. Prob- ably therefore the 1 1 plates in addition to the 41 mentioned above were never published. The engraving of Angelini's statue of G. B. Piranesi is found in this work. (Francesco Piranesi.)
Varie tabulae celeberrimorum Pictorum Raccolta di Alcuni Disegni del Barbed da Cento detto il Guercino incisi in rame e presentati al Sig. T. Jenkins dall' Architetto. G. B. Piranesi.
With 2 plates engraved by Francesco and dedicated to his father, "Apud Equitem Johannem Baptistem Piranesi."
Antiquites de la Grande Grece aujourd'hui Royaume de Naples . . . gravees. par F. Piranesi d'apres les dessins du pere, J. B. Piranesi. Paris, 1804-7.
105 plates. 3 vols.
In the letterpress catalogue issued in 1801 the following are quoted as being "DifFerentes vues dessinnees par Despres et gravees, par Frangois Piranesi" :--
Illumination de la Croix de S. Pierre le jeudi et le vendredi saints, vue d'en haut.
Chapelle Pauline illuminee.
Chateau S. Ange au moment que l'on tire le feu d'artifice dit la Girandola vu d'en haut.
Grotte de Posilippe, vue d'en haut, d'un efFet merveiileux.
Plan general de la Villa de Pompeia, Temple d'Isis vu de face. 1788.
Entree de la Porte de la Ville.
Tombeau de Mammia.
Cloitre des Chartreux dans les Thermes de Diocletien avec la vue au meillieu du grouppe des quatre Cipres au clair de lune, peint par Frangois Sablet, et grave par Francois. (Piranesi.)
Deux Bacchantes trouvees dans les ruines de la Ville de Pompeia. On les voit dans le Musee Royal k Portico.
Dimentions geometriques du plan et elevation de Temissaire du Lac Fucino, acheve par TEmpereur Claude. Dessine par J. Baptiste et acheve par Frangois. En 2 feuilles.
6 plates.
Plan de la Villa Adrienne, ou d'on voit les ruines des Edifices que TEmpereur avait construits dans le style des batimens les plus remarquables de la Grece et d'Egypte.
En 6 feuilles.
3 plates
Vue de la Grande Place de Padoue. En 3 feuilles.
Plan du Palais de Sans Souci.
Cinq differentes Bordures pour ornament des estampes.
Plan du Cirque de Caracalla. En 2 feuilles.
The following are included in the catalogue issued in 1792 as being in preparation ("qu'on grave actuellement"), but there is no evidence that they ever appeared :--
Statues des plus celebres Sculptures de nos jours.
Choix des Meilleures Bas-Reliefs, Antiques en — planches.
Vues des Maisons de Campagne ou Villes de Rome, de Frascati, de Tivoli.
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