Giovanni Battista Piranesi

263 works by Giovanni Battista Piranesi (Italian, 1720–1778) are catalogued on Archive Lane, free to preview and available to download or order as a print.

Giovanni Battista Piranesi (1720-1778) trained as an architect in Venice but built almost nothing. He moved to Rome and spent his life etching it instead. The Vedute di Roma, sold to visitors on the Grand Tour, shaped how Europe pictured the ancient city for two centuries, exaggerating scale until ruins loom over the figures beneath them. His Carceri d'Invenzione, the imaginary prisons, abandon the real city entirely for vast interiors of stairs and chains that lead nowhere, and they were read a century later as a forerunner of Romantic and Surrealist space. He was also a fierce polemicist, arguing in print that Roman architecture owed nothing to the Greeks. This archive holds high-resolution scans of his etchings, free to preview and available as originals for printing.

At a glance

Most of Giovanni Battista Piranesi's work on the site falls under Prints (849), Drawings (73), Landscape (31).

By movement, it's catalogued as Rococo (950), Neoclassicism (19).

Culture: Italian (969).

By orientation: 696 landscape, 272 portrait, 1 square.

Other Italian artists of the period

Artists from the same country and generation, also in the archive:

• Giovanni Battista Tiepolo — 641 artworks
• Canaletto — 238 artworks
• Francesco Guardi — 218 artworks
• Luigi Mayer — 112 artworks
• Francesco Londonio — 99 artworks
• Giovanni Battista Cipriani — 90 artworks
• Gaetano Gandolfi — 89 artworks
• Richard Wilson — 85 artworks

Prints of these artworks

Every artwork here can be downloaded as the original high-resolution file, or ordered as a Canvas, Rolled Canvas, Framed Canvas or Framed Print from $21.99, shipping included.

Sizes and framing

Sizes are listed in inches and centimetres, with up to 26 sizes available depending on the print type, from small desk pieces up to large statement pieces. A size that doesn't match this artwork's own proportions is centred and trimmed to fit, and each print type's page states exactly how much of the image that removes.

Framed Canvas and Framed Print orders are available in 8 frame colours (Black, White, Natural, Gold, Walnut, Silver, Dark Grey, Light Grey); Canvas and Rolled Canvas have no frame and no glass.

Frequently asked questions

How many Giovanni Battista Piranesi artworks does Archive Lane have?

263 public-domain artworks by Giovanni Battista Piranesi are catalogued on Archive Lane, each available as a free preview, a digital download, or a made-to-order print.

What nationality was Giovanni Battista Piranesi?

Giovanni Battista Piranesi is catalogued as Italian (born 1720, died 1778).

Can I download these as digital files?

Yes, every artwork can be previewed for free and downloaded as the original high-resolution file with a one-off purchase or a membership.

Can these be printed and framed?

Yes, any artwork here can be ordered as a Canvas, Rolled Canvas, Framed Canvas or Framed Print, made to order and shipped locally.

Is this art really public domain?

Yes. Every artwork on Archive Lane is in the public domain, meaning the original copyright has expired, so it can be reproduced and sold as a print without a licence from the artist's estate.

Can I filter this list?

Yes, use the filters above the grid to narrow by artist, colour, orientation and, where available, movement or room.