Mahaney Arts Center 125
72 Porter Field Road
Middlebury, VT 05753
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Open to the Public

Etching by Giovanni Battista Piranesi showing dramatic architectural subjects

Giovanni Battista Piranesi was an artist like no other. Working as an architect, printmaker, polemicist, archaeologist, interior designer, and art dealer, he created works that even today define our notions of Ancient and Modern Rome, and which helped establish a taste for Neoclassical design that spread across Europe. His powers of invention were prodigious, and his influence enormous—maddeningly so for some of his contemporaries. This lecture will survey Piranesi’s fantastic inventions, exploring the process of their creation, their lasting legacy, and the personality of their creator.

This lecture is given by Dr. John Marciari, the Director of Curatorial Affairs and the Head of the Department of Drawings and Prints at the Morgan Library & Museum, where he was responsible for the 2023 exhibition and catalogue Sublime Ideas: Drawings by Giovanni Battista Piranesi

Sponsored by:
Museum of Art

Contact Organizer

Drexel, Francisca
fdrexel@middlebury.edu
802-443-2369