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Giovanni B. Piranesi is an Italian artist known for his etchings depicting the monuments of ancient and modern Rome. Born in Venice in 1720, Piranesi was the son of a stonemason. He received practical training while working for his uncle, Matteo Lucchesi, a leading architect in Magistro delle Acque. After his apprenticeship, Piranesi had the opportunity to work as a draughtsman for Marco Foscarini, Venetian ambassador for Pope Benedict XIV in 1740.

During this time, he studied under Giuseppe Vasi, who introduced him to the art of etching and engraving. Vasi felt that Piranesi was too talented to just be an engraver and thought he was more of a painter. However, printmaking allowed Piranesi to pursue all of his interests at once. He was able to design the fantastical buildings that could never exist in real life or redesign the aqueducts of ancient Rome. Anything he wanted to create, he could create with etching. After studying with Vasi, Piranesi collaborated with students of the French Academy in Rome to create series of views of Rome, Vedute. His first works were Prima parte di Archeitettura e Prospettive (1743) and Varie Vedute di Roma Antica e Moderna (1745).

From 1743 to 1747, Piranesi spent the majority of his time in Venice, often visiting Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, a prominent artist. Tiepolo was the one who expanded Piranesi’s understanding of etching and engraving. Upon his return to Rome, he opened a workshop where, during 1748 to 1774, he created an important series, Vedute di Roma, a series that established him in his field. Concurrently, he worked on the measurements of many ancient buildings, which led him to publish Le Antichità Romane de' tempo della prima Repubblica e dei primi imperatori (Roman Antiquities of the Time of the First Republic and the First Emperors). In 1762, Piranesi became a member of the Accademia di San Luca and opened his own print shop.

After a project with Pope Clement XIII dematerialized, his nephew Cardinal Rezzonico commissioned Piranesi, in 1764, to work on the restoration of the church of Santa Maria del Priorato. This was his only architectural work. Combining Classical architectural elements with Piranesi’s own imaginative elements and structures, he designed a new façade for the church and walls of the Piazza dei Cavalieri di Malta.

In 1767, Piranesi was awarded a knighthood, of the Golden Spur. He continued to publish creative projects such as a publication for chimneypieces and original designs for furniture. He created the Piranesi Vase in 1776, a reconstructed homage. Built from marble of ancient Rome, the vase was interspersed with fragments excavated from Hadrian’s Villa. The vase stands on three legs with a triangular base and a relief around the sides.

Piranesi died in Rome in 1778, after suffering a long illness. He was entombed in Santa Maria del Priorato, the church he helped to restore.