Workshop of Giovanni Battista Piranesi

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Workshop of Giovanni Battista Piranesi
1720-1778
Study for Pedimented Niche with Column at Left and Decorative Frieze below
Black chalk on paper, irregularly cut at left.
8 11/16 x x 5 1/4 inches (206 x 134 mm)
Bequest of Junius S. Morgan and gift of Henry S. Morgan.
1966.11:38
Notes: 

This drawing, by a member of Piranesi's workshop, is related to a marble shrine that Piranesi sold to the 2nd Earl of Bessborough, probably through the agency of Thomas Jenkins. The shrine was later sold to the Earl of Lonsdale and was long at Lowther Castle, though it was sold in 1947 and was in an English private collection until sold again at Sotheby's, London, 5 July 2022, lot 195 (https://tinyurl.com/3vfzcuwp).

Inscription: 

Watermark: Fleur-de-lis inside doube circle, mongram "CB" above, centered on chain line. Same watermark on 1966.11:33 and 1966.11:34.
Numbered at lower left, in graphite, "110".

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. 38, repr.

Catalog link: 
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Artist page: 
Piranesi, Giovanni Battista
School: 
Italian
Classification: 
Drawing
Department: 
Drawings and Prints