In April, 1757, Piranesi was elected an honorary Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, which is another proof of the esteem in which he was held in England. He was knighted by Pope Clement XIII. in 1767. He died in 1778, and is buried in the church of Santa Maria Aventina.
Of his five children, Francesco (b. 1748) and Laura (b. 1750) etched in their father’s manner and assisted him in his work. After his death, however, they took to print-selling rather than creative work, though Francesco still etched plates on his own account. In 1798 he packed up his father’s copper-plates and took them to Paris. During an adventurous journey they fell into the hands of an English Admiral, who, however, knowing the fame of the father, unfortunately restrained his first impulse to throw the plates overboard. It was unfortunate because on arrival in Paris Francesco was able, with the help of the French Government, to republish from the old plates a new edition of his father’s work, which, from the state of the plates, for many years did considerable damage to Piranesi’s fame as an etcher. The plates exist at the present day, and it is believed that prints are still occasionally struck from them. Now, however, the difference between the original Roman impressions and the later Paris ones is well understood, and Piranesi’s renown never stood higher than it does to-day. His son died in 1810.
The plates here reproduced are from the author’s collection, with the exception of the designs for chimneypieces, which have been kindly lent by Mr. Batsford.
C. H. Reilly.
Plate 1: Title-page to the “Vedute di Roma.” (Pub. Rome 1751.)
Plate 2: Composition of Ruins.
Plate 3: Bas-relief from the Portico of the Church of the Apostles, Rome.