Giovanni Battista Piranesi

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Giovanni Battista Piranesi

1720-1778

Study of a Sphinx-footed Pedestal or Base

ca. 1761-1765

Red chalk, over black chalk, on paper cut to a trapezoid.

3 11/16 x 2 5/16 inches (95 x 60 mm)

Bequest of Junius S. Morgan and gift of Henry S. Morgan.

1966.11:101

Notes:

On same mat as 1966.11:23
This Sphinx-footed (or perhaps griffin-footed) pedestal is akin to numerous ancient Roman works, among them examples in the Museo Archeologico Nazionale in Venice (inv. 1887.114, from the Grimani collection), the Musee du Louvre (inv. MA611), and the British Museum (inv. 1805,0703.223), although the precise model for Piranesi's drawing has not yet been identified. See 1966.11:47 verso for a related drawing.

Inscription:

Numbered at lower right, in graphite, "5".
Watermark: Double chain with religious symbol, fragment. Possibly a Kingdom of the Two Sicilies watermark akin to that in 1966.11:15.

Provenance:

Mrs. J. P. Morgan, New York; by descent to her sons Junius S. Morgan, Princeton and Paris (no mark, see Lugt 1536) and Henry S. Morgan, New York.

Watermark:

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Associated names:

Morgan, Jane Norton, 1868-1925, former owner.
Morgan, Junius Spencer, 1892-1960, former owner.
Morgan, Henry S. (Henry Sturgis), 1900-1982, former owner.

Bibliography:

Stampfle, Felice. Giovanni Battista Piranesi, Drawings in the Pierpont Morgan Library. New York : Dover, 1978, no. 101, repr.

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Piranesi, Giovanni Battista

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