Stylistic groups of the Piranesi Drawings

Georg Kabierske and Bénédicte Maronnie

Among the Karlsruhe drawings from Piranesi’s studio, the hands of various artists can be identified. However, when examining a complex cache of material, previous methods of attribution often reach their limits, as has been noted and discussed in the context of more larger and renowned workshops, for example, Rembrandt (1606–1669) or the English cabinetmaker Thomas Chippendale (c. 1718–1779). Trying to link each individual sheet to an artist’s name has proved impossible in many cases due to the complexity of this kind of material. Methodologically, it is more insightful to demonstrate connections between drawings in order to understand the material as an organic whole. Stefan Morét succeeded in making a first grouping in preparation for the International Piranesi Workshop held at the Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe from April 8 to 10, 2018. This was further differentiated in the process of the authors working together with Christoph Frank.

Since the Karlsruhe drawings are largely preliminary studies for motifs that feature in Piranesi’s printed works or in other projects, a chronological classification is possible in many cases. For example, the publication date of a print can indicate the terminus ante quem for a drawing that must obviously have been produced before the print (see the explanatory notes in the individual catalog entries). Further, a process of elimination can be utilized by determining which individuals were active in the studio or in contact with Piranesi at the time, and can therefore be considered as possible originators of the drawings. Although some names are known, a definitive attribution of the drawings is only possible to a limited extent. The groups of drawings presented here were determined on the basis of stylistic comparisons; the question of their attribution can thus far only be answered with hypotheses that require further research. For one thing, in many instances there are no unambiguous or signed drawings by the artists exist that could be used for reference; for another, in the studio context the practice existed of copying or transferring drawings and in this way imitating a particular style. In addition, there are drawings in different hands that were worked on by several people at different stages of their production. Further, it is safe to assume that Piranesi’s children — Laura, Francesco, Angelo, and Pietro — and other people involved in the studio were trained on the drawing material that was available. In the case of his sons and daughter, the speculative question arises as to at what age they were capable of executing drawings of adequate quality. It should also be considered that a draughtsman’s hand evolves over time, and this makes it difficult to assign a personal, consistent style to a particular artist. Drawing style can also vary according to the technique, typology (figures, ornamentation, architecture), and function of a drawing, for example, the considerable differences between a cursory sketch and a final drawing.

It is quite possible that the two Karlsruhe albums contain both drawings executed in Piranesi’s studio as well as others drawn by external artists and subsequently added to the studio’s collection of motifs. In fact, the majority of the Karlsruhe drawings were not executed by Piranesi himself, although some were revised by him in his own hand. In the analysis of the albums, two draughtsmen above all emerged: the French ornamental draughtsman Nicolas François Daniel Lhuillier (c. 1736–1793) and Giovanni Battista’s eldest son, Francesco Piranesi (1756?–1810). According to Piranesi’s biographer Jacques-Guillaume Legrand (1753–1807), the other artists active in the studio Vincenzo Dolcibene (c. 1746–1820) and Benedetto Mori (active from the 1760s to the early 1800s)^[1] are difficult to research in Karlsruhe. Dolcibene’s known drawings found resonance only in a few cases, as comparisons show.^[2] Since there are so far no known drawings by Mori, who according to Legrand was active as an architectural draughtsman for Piranesi, his name cannot be linked to any of the Karlsruhe drawings.^[3] On the other hand, depending on the period, other draughtsmen could have worked for Piranesi whose names have not survived. One has to assume there was a small number of direct collaborators and of draughtsmen who were close to Piranesi or frequented his studio. One thinks here of Hubert Robert (1733–1808), Charles-Louis Clérisseau (1721–1820), and Jean-Laurent Legeay (c. 1710–after 1786), all of whom Legrand singles out for mention in his description of the artist’s life.

Throughout his life, Piranesi functioned as both a master draughtsman and a mastermind. As far as this can be verified, the entire graphic output of his studio is accredited to him alone, regardless of who the actual draughtsman may have been, and who likely had to execute the respective drawing according to Piranesi’s specifications — a practice that still prevails today in large and important architecture firms and is increasingly also found in the virtually industrially operated workshops of contemporary artists. In the context of the reattribution of the Karlsruhe albums, it is now possible for the first time to consider Giovanni Battista Piranesi’s drawing style in conjunction with his studio, a subject area that up to now researchers have only looked at in a few individual cases.^[4] Piranesi’s drawings in his own hand could have been taken over by employees in the course of being elaborated by additional drawing work to make them more precise. Piranesi also corrected or inscribed numerous drawings by his collaborators in his own hand. This is not only documented in Karlsruhe, but also in connection with the Piranesi holdings of the Kunstbibliothek Berlin and the Morgan Library in New York. Although these problems of attribution are considerable, it is nonetheless possible to assemble different groups of drawings in the Karlsruhe albums on the basis of stylistic or content-related similarities. Instead of viewing a drawing as an independent work, viewing the group as a whole can open up new perspectives with regard to the drawing type, motifs, as well as their connections and wider dissemination. Moreover, should further drawings from the Piranesi studio come to light in future years, they could be related to the Karlsruhe material and the groups proposed there. Previously unknown drawings could complement the attempts at classification, they could facilitate attributions, or even revise them.

It should be remembered that the Karlsruhe drawings are very closely related to other known sheets from the Piranesi studio. These include the drawings in the Morgan Library in New York, the sketchbooks in the Biblioteca Estense in Modena,^[5] and part of the Vogel-Escher album^[6] in the Zentralbibliothek in Zurich, as well as individual sheets primarily in the Kunstbibliothek Berlin, the Kunsthalle Hamburg, and the British Museum in London. A holistic examination of the entire material from the studio known thus far is still pending. With regard to individual Karlsruhe catalog entries, this cross-collection classification has now begun. This new examination of drawing material from Giovanni Battista Piranesi’s studio also sheds new light on the drawing practices of other architects and artists in Rome and their interconnections.

In the course of several years of review and discussion in the research group, fifteen stylistic or typological groups were defined, although several might also be from the same hand. The designations were formulated as openly as possible in order to give space to the various attribution hypotheses and to enable adequate discussion. Because of the many possible connections between the drawings, there is often overlap between the groups. For those sheets that could not yet be assigned, four special groups were defined.

Einzelnachweis

1. See Gilbert Erouart and Monique Mosser, “À propos de la ‘Notice historique sur la vie et les ouvrages de J.- B. Piranesi’: origine et fortune d’une biographie”, in Piranèse et les français, colloquium, Rome, Villa Medici, May 12–14, 1976, (Rome: Edizioni dell’Elefante, 1978), 213–252, here 230: “Dolcibene qui dessina pour Piranesi pendant 7 à 8 ans des figures, bas-reliefs et autres accessoires de l’achitecture” and 251: “Fr. Piranesi continua donc ses travaux [...] en s’adjoignant toujours le fidèle compagnon de son père et le sien l’architecte Benedetto Mori graveur habile et aussi laborieux qu’instruit dans toutes les parties de l’architecture civile.”

2. The selection of drawings by Dolcibene here are from the collection of Charles Townley in the British Museum, London. On Dolcibene and his activity as draughtsman for Charles Townley, see Ilaria Bignamini and Clare Sekul Hornsby, Digging and Dealing in Eighteenth-Century Rome (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2010), 178, 179, 181, 190; Viccy Coltman, “Designs on Eighteenth-century Sculpture”, The Sculpture Journal 13, 1 (2005): 89–102.

3. Not much is known about the artistic oeuvre of Benedetto Mori. Based on Legrand, Bevilaqua assumes that Mori contributed to the execution of floor plans and technical drawings during Piranesi’s trips to Paestum and Pompeii; see, among others, Mario Bevilacqua, “Piranesi 1778: Ricerche interrotte, opere perdute”, in Vincenzo Cazzato, Sebastiano Roberto, and Mario Bevilacqua, eds., La festa delle arti: Scritti in onore di Marcello Fagiolo per cinquant’anni di studi, 2 vols. (Rome: Gangemi Editore, 2014), vol. 2, 792–797, here 792, 795. In addition, Mori is believed to have contributed to the topographical survey of Villa Adriana and Campo Marzio, cf. Rossana Caira Lumetti, La cultura dei lumi tra Italia e Svezia: Il ruolo di Francesco Piranesi (Rome: Bonacci Editore, 1990), 133; William Lloyd MacDonald and John A. Pinto, Hadrian’s Villa and Its Legacy (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1995), 247. Between 1780 and 1808 Mori provided the architectural drawings for Jean Baptiste Séroux d’Agincourt’s Histoire de l’art par les monuments (1823). Benedetto, his brother Vincenzo, as well as Francesco Piranesi were involved in the Armfelt Conspiracy (1793–1794); for details see Rossana Caira Lumetti 1990 (see above reference), 127–170. A letter to D. Giovanni Acton (December 1794) mentions that Mori worked for Piranesi for 12 years; see Rossana Caira Lumetti, ed., Vincenzo Monti: Lettera di Francesco Piranesi al Signor Generale D. Giovanni Acton (Palermo: Sellerio Editore, 1991), 69–71.

4. See Sarah Vowles, Piranesi Drawings: Visions of Antiquity, exh. cat., British Museum, London (London: Thames & Hudson, 2020), 6–9.

5. Biblioteca Estense Universitaria di Modena, MS. Campori 1522 (γ 6, 32) and MS. Campori 1523 (γ 6, 23).

6. Zentralbibliothek Zürich, Vogel-Escher Album, FA Escher vG.188.6.

Open all

Giovanni Battista Piranesi (1720–1778), Group 1

Here you will find all the works in Group 1

IX 5159-35-15-1, IX 5159-35-19-5, IX 5159-35-30-1, IX 5159-35-30-5, IX 5159-35-31-1v, IX 5159-35-31-5, IX 5159-35-32-2, IX 5159-35-32-4v, IX 5159-35-33-2, IX 5159-35-33-3, IX 5159-35-34-3, IX 5159-35-34-4, IX 5159-36-2-4, IX 5159-36-2-5, IX 5159-36-11-6v, IX 5159-36-12-5v, IX 5159-36-16-1, IX 5159-36-31-1v, IX 5159-36-33-1, IX 5159-36-33-4.

This group contains drawings that can be associated with the drawing style of Giovanni Battista Piranesi. In view of their background in a studio context, however, there are fundamental questions concerning the concept of authorship: How and on the basis of which drawings has Piranesi’s drawing style been defined so far? How do the Karlsruhe ornamental drawings, which represent the largest portion of the material from his studio, relate to this image of Piranesi? What is the role of his drawings in the artistic invention process, and how can they be reconciled with the collective work in the studio?

Naturally, these issues go far beyond what can be addressed in the following text. To formulate the issues clearly, however, may demonstrate how complex the question of authorship is.

“Studio material” refers not only to drawings that were kept in the studio and produced by collaborators or contemporaries. It also refers to drawings in Piranesi’s hand that he created both inside and outside the workshop, as well as to pre-existing drawings by other artists where his input ranged from minimal to major.

On the one hand, Piranesi’s working drawings consist of sketches and studies in which he recorded on paper his initial ideas in the process of creating a work (compositions for vedute, candelabra, fireplaces, etc.). On the other hand, there are sketches and tracings of ancient architectural elements that he executed during his exploratory tours — capitals (e.g., IX 5159-35-19-2, consoles (e.g., IX 5159-35-33-3)), reliefs (e.g., IX 5159-36-16-1), and so on — in the same way that writers later develop stories from notes taken during their everyday lives. These drawn notes were intended only for himself and for use in the studio, unlike his architectural fantasies,^[1] which he created to sell to collectors, or the final drawings for projects that he completed with the participation of studio collaborators to submit to a client. In the case of preparatory drawings for veduta compositions for prints, Piranesi deviated somewhat from traditional practice in that he rarely worked them out in detail — especially in the second half of his career, from 1760 onward.^[2] The studio inventory presented here includes multi-hand drawings, which do not represent a completed stage of execution, but they enable insights into a complex working practice that developed over time.

Just as paleography explores a particular, individual style of writing, to define Piranesi’s drawing hand it is necessary to work out the duct of a hand, the specific execution of strokes and their distinguishing features. In all of Piranesi’s drawing typologies — copies of classical antiquity originals, drawings of vedute, architectural fantasies, figures, candelabra, or fireplaces — his energetic and sure hand stands out. He has an extremely spontaneous way of developing his inventions during the process of drawing. Towards the end of his life, this tendency became more pronounced, while at the same time he entrusted the accurate and clean execution of his ideas to an ever-increasing number of collaborators.

Thus far Piranesi’s drawing style has been evaluated in the literature mainly on the basis of drawings of figures, vedute, and architectural fantasies in pen, brush, and in red chalk. Drawings representative of these typologies exist in the Karlsruhe albums, including a fragmentary preparatory drawing for a printed veduta (IX 5159-35-31-1v), two architectural fantasies (IX 5159-36-33-1, IX 5159-36-33-4), two drawings with Erotes (IX 5159-36-2-4, IX 5159-36-2-5), and a figure study (IX 5159-36-31-1v). Drawings of fireplaces and their surrounding wall decorations (mainly in the Kunstbibliothek, Berlin, the Morgan Library, New York, and the Hamburger Kunsthalle) and of candelabra (in the Morgan Library, New York, the British Museum, London, and the Biblioteca Estense in Modena) visualize Piranesi’s style in the area of ornament. The abovementioned works are considered to be a guide for the attribution of drawings of decorative objects (including IX 5159-35-34-4, IX 5159-35-33-2, IX 5159-35-31-5, and some of the sketches on IX 5159-35-30-1).

Special attention, however, must be paid to the imitation and adoption principle practiced in the studio context. In his travel journal, Gerrit Jan Baron de Hochepied (1742–1807), a Dutch visitor to Piranesi’s workshop in September 1775, reports that by this time Piranesi’s children had already followed “in their father’s footsteps in an excellent manner”.^[3] According to what Baron de Hochepied says, Piranesi was concerned to train his children after his manner and to present them in this light. In doing so, he likely had in mind the continuation of his business in the future and the preservation of a style representative of his name as an artist within the studio’s production. Although de Hochepied’s description seems like a topos, this handing down of the master’s style by his children survives in two drawings by Francesco and Angelo, dated 1776, which are in the Album Amicorum of Aernout Vosmaer (1720–1799) alongside a drawing by Giovanni Battista. Vosmaer was also a member of the Dutch travelling party that visited Piranesi’s studio in 1775. The evaluation of the Karlsruhe drawings needs to pay special attention to this aspect as well, for in some cases the children could have drawn in the style of their father. This is particularly evident in Giovanni Battista Piranesi’s later preparatory drawings, for example, the Paestum and Pompeii series, to which Francesco almost certainly contributed, and probably other collaborators as well. The question often raised in the literature about how to distinguish Piranesi’s hand from that of other workshop draughtsmen (including within a drawing) is difficult to resolve. And when one considers the studio context, the debate about authorship (“Piranesi/not Piranesi”) reaches its methodological limits.

In principle, a draughtsman can draw differently in terms of style according to the particular moment in time, the circumstances, as well as the typology of the subject. The majority of the Piranesi drawings in Karlsruhe are of individual architectural ornaments, which can be assigned to the second half of Piranesi’s career (as of the 1760s) and in some cases to his collection of motifs for his own inventions (e.g. IX 5159-35-19-5, IX 5159-35-30-5, IX 5159-35-32-2, IX 5159-35-33-3, IX 5159-36-16-1). They do not fit into the Piranesi image defined thus far, because unlike his figures, vedute, architectural fantasies, and decorative objects, there are hardly any ornamental sheets like these currently held in museum collections. In addition to the spontaneous, powerful, and sometimes rather inexact drawings that correspond to the generally accepted notion of Piranesi’s style, the question arises as to what extent the artist also executed precise drawings. For example, in the fireplace drawing (Fig. 1) and the altar drawing of Santa Maria del Priorato in the Morgan Library (Fig. 2, see also IX 5159-35-34-6), did he make spontaneous and energetic additions to the precisely drawn basic structure, or are we dealing here with two different hands? Numerous examples of such combined ways of drawing have been identified, and this has certainly been mentioned in the literature — for example, by Bent Sørensen — but it has not been pursued in detail (see, for example, the drawings for San Giovanni in Laterano, ca. 1763–1764, New York, Morgan Library, Inv. 1966.11.55).^[4]

Pen drawing of the right corner of a chimney. Done with a quick hand. — **Abb. 1:** Giovanni Battista Piranesi and workshop?, design of a fireplace, late 1760s/1770s, pen and brown ink over red chalk, 148 x 129 mm, New York, © The Morgan Library & Museum, Bequest of Junius S. Morgan and gift of Henry S. Morgan, Inv. 1966.11:88

Detailliert ausgeführte Zeichnung eines Altars in Frontalansicht mit eindrucksvoller Licht- und Schattenführung. — **Abb. 1:** Giovanni Battista Piranesi and workshop?, design of a fireplace, late 1760s/1770s, pen and brown ink over red chalk, 148 x 129 mm, New York, © The Morgan Library & Museum, Bequest of Junius S. Morgan and gift of Henry S. Morgan, Inv. 1966.11:88

Some drawings typologically comparable to those in Karlsruhe are found in the Morgan Library and in the Modena Sketchbooks. In the 1940s, drawings from the Morgan Library collection were identified for the first time as Piranesi’s studio material by Felice Stampfle; until then, the existence of such material had only been surmised.^[5] The Morgan Library holdings are particularly interesting because of the small ornamental drawings in Piranesi’s hand from the 1750s and the early 1760s, which are important examples to compare with the Karlsruhe drawings (Fig. 3 and, among others, inv. 1966.11:19, 1966.11:22). To date, no in-depth study has been published on integrating the drawings in New York into Piranesi’s oeuvre as a whole. Until the reattribution of the Karlsruhe drawings, comparable materials for such a study were lacking. The Modena Sketchbooks — a first study by Mario Bevilacqua was published in 1978 and a more detailed one in 2008 — also serve as an important resource for research (Fig. 4).^[6] For a closer look at Piranesi’s development as a draughtsman and the involvement of other draughtsmen in his studio, the recent catalog of the drawings held in the British Museum is an important guide.^[7]

Skizzenhafte Rötelzeichnung eines Ornaments mit rasch angelegter Girlande und tanzenden Figuren. — **Fig. 3:** Giovanni Battista Piranesi, *Breast Ornament of the Statue of Artemis of Ephesus*, before 1761, red chalk over black pen, 147 × 146 cm, New York, © The Morgan Library & Museum, bequest of Junius S. Morgan and gift of Henry S. Morgan, Inv. 1966.11:23

Zeichnung in schwarzer Kreide von schnell ausgeführten Gebälkstudien von der Hand Giovanni Battista Piranesis. — **Fig. 3:** Giovanni Battista Piranesi, *Breast Ornament of the Statue of Artemis of Ephesus*, before 1761, red chalk over black pen, 147 × 146 cm, New York, © The Morgan Library & Museum, bequest of Junius S. Morgan and gift of Henry S. Morgan, Inv. 1966.11:23

Piranesi’s more precise drawing style in the execution of reliefs, ornaments, or faces is also found in his larger compositions of the 1760s and early 1770s. For example, the preparatory drawings for etchings whose attribution to Giovanni Battista is certain, such as those in the Gabinetto disegni e stampe in the Uffizi Galleries (Fig. 6) or in the Morgan Library (Fig. 5). This more precise execution is characterised by vivid lines, which can also be observed in the drawing of a fragment of a column in the album belonging to Weinbrenner’s student Heinrich Geier.^[8]

Detailausschnitt einer detailliert ausgeführten Rötelzeichnung. — **Fig. 5:** Giovanni Battista Piranesi, drawing fragment for the title page of *Antichità d’Albano e Castel Gandolfo*, before 1762, red chalk over black chalk, 180 × 264 mm, New York, © The Morgan Library & Museum, Bequest of Junius S. Morgan and gift of Henry S. Morgan, Inv. 1966.11:71v (detail).

Detailausschnitt einer Rötelzeichnung mit präziser Ausführung eines Figurenreliefs. — **Fig. 5:** Giovanni Battista Piranesi, drawing fragment for the title page of *Antichità d’Albano e Castel Gandolfo*, before 1762, red chalk over black chalk, 180 × 264 mm, New York, © The Morgan Library & Museum, Bequest of Junius S. Morgan and gift of Henry S. Morgan, Inv. 1966.11:71v (detail).

Einzelnachweis

1. Piranesi’s completed large works of architectural fantasies, which the artist produced to sell to collectors, seem to have been both rare and popular during his lifetime. In 1765, he sold one drawing to the English gentleman collector Joseph Windham (1738–1810), and in 1761 six drawings to the traveller Edward Walter (1727–1780; in Rome from mid-1770 to April 1771): see Mario Bevilacqua, Piranesi: Taccuini di Modena, vol. 2, Riproduzione dei Taccuini Campori della Biblioteca Estense Universitaria (Rome: Artemide Edizioni, 2008), 4 and 282; William Rieder, “Piranesi at Gorhambury”, The Burlington Magazine 117 (1975): 582–591, here 586–589.

2. See Sarah Vowles, Piranesi Drawings: Visions of Antiquity, exh. cat., London, British Museum, (London: Thames & Hudson, 2020), 17f, 108, no. 38; see also the famous anecdote cited in Jacques-Guillaume Legrand’s biography, in which Giovanni Battista Piranesi tells the French painter Hubert Robert that he sometimes draws entirely from memory: “Le peintre Robert avec lequel il dessinait quelques fois aussi d’après nature, et qui était si bien en état d’apprécier son talens, ne concevait pas ce qu'on pouvait faire de croquis aussi peu arrêtés; Piranesi, voyant son étonnement, lui disait: le dessin n'est pas sur mon papier, j'en conviens, mais il est tout entier dans ma tête, et vous le verrez par la planche, elle était fidèle, en effet, et rien n'y était omis.” (“The painter Robert, with whom he [Piranesi] sometimes drew from nature, and who appreciated [Piranesi’s] talent, could not understand why sketches were left so unfinished. Piranesi, noticing his astonishment, told him, ‘The drawing is not on my paper, I confess, but it is entirely in my head; you will see it on the printing plate.’ Indeed, it was faithful and nothing was missing at all.”) in Gilbert Erouart and Monique Mosser, “À propos de la ‘Notice historique sur la vie et les ouvrages de J.-B. Piranesi’: origine et fortune d’une biographie”, in Piranèse et les français, colloquium, Rome, Villa Medici, May 12–14, 1976, ed. Georges Brunel (Rome: Edizioni dell’Elefante 1978), 213–252, here 231.

3. Travelogue by Gerrit Jan Baron de Hochepied, Voyage de la Haye par la France, Suisse, l’Italie, Tyrol et l’Allemagne, en Hollande, l’année 1775–76 (Leiden, Universiteitsbibliotheek, MSS. BPL 2058), 29 September 1775: “hoe deze hele familie uitmunt op het gebied der schone kunsten, en alle kinderen, meisjes zogoed as jongens, een zo gelukkige aanleg hebben, dat zij op voortreffelijke wijze in de voetstappen van hun vader treden” (“How this whole family excels in the field of fine arts and all the children, girls as well as boys, have such a delightfully artistic disposition that they follow in their father’s footsteps in an outstanding manner”), cited in Ronald De Leeuw, ed., Herinneringen aan Italië: Kunst en toerisme in de 18de eeuw (Zwolle: Waanders, 1984), 148f. For further excerpts from de Hochepied’s journal, see Bent Sørensen, “Piranesi, Grandjacquet, and the Warwick Vase”, The Burlington Magazine, 145 (2003): 792–795.

4. Bent Sørensen, “The Project for the Reconstruction of the Lateran Basilica in Rome”, in Sarah E. Lawrence, ed., Piranesi as Designer (New York: Smithsonian Institution, Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, 2007), 170–201, here 199.

5. Henri Focillon, Giovanni Battista Piranesi, 1720–1778 (Paris: Librairie Renovard H. Laurens, 1918), 199.

6. See Adriano Cavicchi and Silla Zamboni, “‘Due Taccuini’ inediti di Piranesi”, in Alessandro Bettagno, ed., Piranesi tra Venezia e l’Europa, (Florence: Leo S. Olschki Editore, 1978), 177–216; Mario Bevilacqua, Piranesi, Taccuini di Modena, 2 vols. (Rome: Artemide Edizioni, 2008).

7. See Sarah Vowles, Piranesi Drawings: Visions of Antiquity, exh. cat. London, British Museum (London: Thames and Hudson, 2020).

8. KIT Karlsruhe, Archive for Architecture and Engineering (SAAI), Album of Heinrich Geier, 113.

Giovanni Battista Piranesi (1720–1778) (?) and/or draughtsman of Piranesi’s studio, Group 2
Here you will find all the works in Group 2
IX 5159-35-8-3, IX 5159-35-28-2, IX 5159-35-28-3, IX 5159-35-28-4, IX 5159-35-28-4v, IX 5159-35-34-1v, IX 5159-35-41-3, IX 5159-36-19-1, IX 5159-36-31-2
The free and rough drawing style of some of the sheets in this group can be linked to Giovanni Battista’s hand through comparisons with drawings in the Morgan Library and in Modena (Fig.1). In addition, it contains multi-hand sheets in which Giovanni Battista might have intervened (e.g. IX 5159-35-28-4). In addition, two drawings (IX 5159-36-19-1, IX 5159-35-28-3) were certainly executed by a draughtsman in the studio close to Piranesi, but not necessarily by him. They are on waste or reused paper from the studio, which have fragments of Piranesi’s etchings on the reverse.
Fig. 1: Comparison of details: Giovanni Battista Piranesi, drawing fragment for the title page of Antichità d’Albano e Castel Gandolfo, before 1762, red chalk over black chalk, 180 × 264 mm, New York, © The Morgan Library & Museum, bequest of Junius S. Morgan and gift of Henry S. Morgan, Inv. 1966.11:71v, and the torso of an ancient armoured statue, Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe, Inv. IX 5159-35-8-3
Giovanni Battista Piranesi (1720– 1778) (?) and draughtsman of Piranesi’s studio, Group 3
Here you will find all the works in Group 3
IX 5159-36-5-1, IX 5159-36-11-1, IX 5159-36-15-1
This group contains figure drawings by unidentified draughtsmen of the studio, in which Giovanni Battista Piranesi at least partially intervened. His hand can be seen, for example, in the long and broad arms of the figure composition IX 5159-36-15-1. Piranesi might also have only drawn details such as the foot next to the statue of St. Peter in drawing IX 5159-36-11-1. Affinities with the style of Vincenzo Dolcibene (c. 1746–1820) are discussed in the article on Drawing IX 5159-36-11-1.

Nicolas François Daniel Lhuillier (c. 1736–1793), Group 4

Here you will find all the works of Group 4

IX 5159-35-1-1, IX 5159-35-3-1, IX 5159-35-5-2, IX 5159-35-6-1, IX 5159-35-7-1, IX 5159-35-10-1, IX 5159-35-15-2, IX 5159-35-20-1, IX 5159-35-20-2, IX 5159-35-21-1, IX 5159-35-22-1, IX 5159-35-26-1, IX 5159-35-27-1, IX 5159-35-36-1, IX 5159-35-37-1, IX 5159-35-38-1, IX 5159-36-21-1

The drawings in this group can be attributed to the French draughtsman Nicolas François Daniel Lhuillier (c. 1736–1793), to whom increasing attention has been paid in recent years due to growing research on the drawing practices of travellers to Italy^[1] A student of Charles-Louis Clérisseau (1721–1820) in Rome, Lhuillier specialised in chalk drawings of architectural ornament, and had acquired a “perfect knowledge of the ancient style and an unusual ease of drawing.”^[2] At that time his teacher Clérisseau, along with Johann Joachim Winkelmann, was one of foremost figures in Roman antiquities research, and an important contact for numerous travellers who came to study or were on the Grand Tour and were interested in antiquities. On the recommendation of Clérisseau, Lhuillier drew, for example, “for various Englishmen with whom he [Clérisseau] corresponded”.^[3] These drawings were widely circulated among the international architects and artists who stayed in the Eternal City for study purposes and built up collections of architectural ornament motifs for later use. That Lhuillier also executed drawings in the Winkelmann context and for Giovanni Battista Piranesi is evidenced by a letter from the French architect François-Joseph Bélanger (1744–1818), whose collaborator Lhuillier was to become in Paris after 1768.^[4]

In the framework of the Karlsruhe research project, drawings in the manner of Lhuillier were found in the collections of Johannes Wiedewelt(1731–1802),^[5] Caspar Frederik Harsdorff (1735–1799)^[6] Friedrich Wilhelm von Erdmannsdorff (1736–1800), ^[7] David Vogel (1744–1808) and Hans Caspar Escher (1775–1859),^[8] James Adam (1732–1794),^[9] Thomas Hardwick (1752–1829),^[10] Richard Norris (c. 1750–1792),^[11] Giuseppe Venanzio Marvuglia (1729–1814),^[12] Giuseppe Manocchi (1731-1782), ^[13] Pierre-Adrien Pâris (1745-1819),^[14]Pierre-Joseph Antoine (1730–1814),^[15] Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres (1780–1867),^[16] in the Piranesi collection of the Morgan Library in New York,^[17] as well as in various anonymous collections in the Kunstbibliothek, Berlin,^[18] the National Gallery of Ireland in Dublin,^[19] Sir John Soane’s Museum in London,^[20] and on the art market^[21] which could be identified and related. The wide distribution of these drawings came about because the sheets were reproduced in Rome by copying or counterproof.

Several drawings in the album of the Swiss architect David Vogel (1744–1808) held in the Zurich Central Library can be attributed to Lhuillier or are direct copies; his authorship is attested by written sources of Johann Friedrich Reiffenstein (1719–1793) and Johann Joachim Winckelmann (1717–1768) (Fig. 1).^[22] Further, among the drawings collected by James Adam (1732–1794) during his trip to Italy in 1760–1763 in Volume 26 of the Adam Travel Drawings in Sir John Soane’s Museum in London, there is a large group of sheets of ornamentation on ancient buildings executed in red and black chalk in the style of Lhuillier (Fig. 2). This attribution was based on the similarity of the motifs to the ornament drawings of his teacher Clérisseau that are in the State Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg, and because some of the sheets are inscribed in chalk with the initial “L”.^[23] However, the fact that Lhuillier had also already made drawings for James’ elder brother Robert Adam (1728–1792) in Rome in 1756 appears to furnish evidence of a previously unpublished section of the Adam correspondence first identified by Christoph Frank.^[24]

Zwei antike Friese mit geflügelten Wesen, antiken Vasen und Gefäßen, Ranken und Akanthusblättern. — **Fig. 1:** Nicolas Lhuillier, *Antique friezes*, 1765, black pen, Zentralbibliothek Zürich, Vogel Escher Album, FA Escher vG.188.6, fol. 78
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Zwei Darstellungen antiker Wellenrankenfriese mit Putten, Tieren und Akanthusblättern. — **Fig. 1:** Nicolas Lhuillier, *Antique friezes*, 1765, black pen, Zentralbibliothek Zürich, Vogel Escher Album, FA Escher vG.188.6, fol. 78
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Some of the drawings in Sir John Soane’s Museum are reworked counterproofs of original drawings by Lhuillier, which are in the Karlsruhe Albums (see the essay “Copied with Oil and Water”).^[25] Further counterproofs from drawings by Lhuillier and comparable motifs in the Karlsruhe material exist in the architect Thomas Hardwick’s collection of drawings (in Rome 1777–1779), which is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York (see, e.g., IX 5159-35-5-2).^[26] On the basis of dimensions and motifs, these sheets in other collections can be attributed to Lhuillier or his milieu by stylistic comparisons.

Back in Paris, Lhuillier worked for various architects as of 1768,^[27] created decorations for buildings based on his ornamental motifs drawn in Rome,^[28] and also published some of them in two works of engravings, the Livre d’ornements of 1772 and the Recueil d’ornemens [sic!] published anonymously as of 1778 (Figs. 3 and 4).^[29] A collection of drawings identified in the Kunstbibliothek Berlin also contains laterally reversed preparatory drawings (Fig. 5).^[30] Furthermore, there are several drawings in the albums of the Kunsthalle Karlsruhe that were created during Lhuillier’s stay in Rome, which have been assigned to this group of drawings. Due to their matching motifs and dimensions, they can be regarded as replicas left behind in Rome of the drawings that were brought to Paris and only used there as preparatory drawings for the Recueil d’ornemens (Fig. 6). These replicas cannot be copies of his engravings, as there are also motifs in the Karlsruhe Albums that were not published.

Zwei Radierungen antiker Friesfragmente mit Akathusranken. — **Fig. 3:** Nicolas Lhuillier and doublet, Two frieze fragments, in *Livre d’ornements*, Plate 3, 1772/73, etching, ca. 494 × 315 mm, Paris, Bibliothèque de l’Institut National d’Histoire de l’Art, Jacques Doucet collections, Inv. NUM FOL Est 611
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Zwei Radierungen antiker Friesfragmente mit Ornamentleiste. — **Fig. 3:** Nicolas Lhuillier and doublet, Two frieze fragments, in *Livre d’ornements*, Plate 3, 1772/73, etching, ca. 494 × 315 mm, Paris, Bibliothèque de l’Institut National d’Histoire de l’Art, Jacques Doucet collections, Inv. NUM FOL Est 611
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Zwei Rötelzeichnungen im Querformat mit Elementen von antiken Friesen. — **Fig. 5:** Nicolas Lhuillier (attributed), preparatory drawings for Plate 3 of the *Livre d’ornemens*, before 1772, red chalk, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Kunstbibliothek, Hdz 3450 and Hdz 3451
Photo credit: Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Kunstbibliothek, Fotograf: Dietmar Katz, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Gegenüberstellung zweier Ausschnitte von Friesdarstellungen in Rötel und schwarzer Kreide. — **Fig. 5:** Nicolas Lhuillier (attributed), preparatory drawings for Plate 3 of the *Livre d’ornemens*, before 1772, red chalk, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Kunstbibliothek, Hdz 3450 and Hdz 3451
Photo credit: Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Kunstbibliothek, Fotograf: Dietmar Katz, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

A characteristic of Lhuillier’s drawings executed in red or black chalk is the striking outline as well as the parallel hatching composed of lines, whose greater or lesser emphasis defines the depth, volume, and shadow effect of the depicted object (Fig. 7). In the case of larger surface areas, such as the background of friezes and reliefs, this hatching consists of short vertical strokes placed next to each other, which appear in turn to be set on top of each other in slightly curved bands of lines (Fig. 8). This creates a clear and precise image that is particularly suitable for copying. This could be seen as a further development of the drawing technique of Lhuillier’s teacher Clérisseau, who used wash to make the background two-dimensional and thus implied depth at the contours of the representation.^[31] This rational drawing technique of creating a neutral background surface with vertical strokes originates from a long tradition of drawings of antiquities and was also used in the 18th century by other French draughtsmen associated with the Académie de France in Rome and also in Paris. Lhuillier is therefore not the inventor of this technique, but through its consistent application in his drawings he spread and systematized it.

Detailausschnitt einer Zeichnung eines antiken Kompositkapitells mit Akanthusranken. — **Fig. 7:** Nicolas Lhuillier (or copy after), Antique composite capital from Santa Maria in Cosmedin (detail), 1764–1765, black pen, Zentralbibliothek Zürich, Vogel Escher Album, FA Escher vG.188.6, fol. 74.
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Detailausschnitt einer Zeichnung mit kniender Darstellung einer Viktoria. — **Fig. 7:** Nicolas Lhuillier (or copy after), Antique composite capital from Santa Maria in Cosmedin (detail), 1764–1765, black pen, Zentralbibliothek Zürich, Vogel Escher Album, FA Escher vG.188.6, fol. 74.
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In addition, Lhuillier’s human figures are characterized by round faces and soft, voluminous robes; their sculpted body shapes and musculature are also features of his depictions of animals and beasts. Although Lhuillier’s drawings are primarily of decorative elements of ancient ruins, he does not attempt to emphasize any painterly character in the sense of a capriccio. Rather, the drawings provide an idealised and undamaged version of the decorative elements that artists or architects could use as a complete template for their own designs. Repetitive elements such as decorative mouldings featuring eggs or pearls as well as other ornamental bands that border friezes and reliefs are often only excerpted in the drawings, as they can easily be lengthened.

This group contains only drawings that can be attributed to Lhuillier due to their superior quality and their connections to the counterproofs in the Adam Collection, to the Recueil d’ornemens [sic!], and to the preparatory drawings for the Livre d’ornements in the Kunstbibliothek.

The dating is based on the years for which it can be proved that Lhuillier was active as a draughtsman in Rome. The term “ante quem” defines his departure for Paris in 1768^[32]; for the period before that, the literature variously cites 17 or 22 years as the length of his stay in Italy, whereby it is unclear whether he was in Rome the whole time.^[33] Here, the earliest possible date of his activities in Rome is assumed to be the mid-1750s, because Clérisseau had completed his own training at the Académie de France in Rome in 1754^[34] and from then onward worked as a teacher, for example, of the architect Robert Adam (1728–1792) and of Lhuillier. As far as is known today, Lhuillier was therefore active as an independent draughtsman from the mid-1750s onwards, as is also proved by the Adam letters. This can be deduced, moreover, from when the architects for whom Lhuillier worked are known to have been in Rome or whose estates contain drawings in his style: Vincenzo Marvuglia was in Rome from 1747 to 1759, Johannes Wiedewelt from 1754 to 1758, Robert Adam from 1755 to 1757, James Adam from 1760 to 1763, Friedrich Wilhelm von Erdmannsdorff in 1765/66 and 1770/71, Pierre-Joseph Antoine from 1761 to 1763, Caspar Frederik Harsdorff from 1762 to 1764, and David Vogel from 1763 to 1765.

To what extent the “draughtsman of architectonic ornaments Lhuillier”^[35] was directly active in Piranesi’s studio or whether he supplied idealised drawings of architectural ornament as an external collaborator is unclear. Against the background of the two large-scale designs for the intricate stucco ceiling for Santa Maria del Priorato ((IX 5159-35-26-1 and IX 5159-35-27-1)), which can be attributed to Lhuillier for stylistic reasons, during this building project (1764–1766), he may have played a greater role in the studio as well as on the construction site not least because after his return to Paris, he achieved a certain fame — especially for his ornamental sculptural decorations for buildings.^[36]

Yet even within the works comprising this group, slight qualitative fluctuations (e.g., between IX 5159-35-1-1 and IX 5159-35-10-1) are apparent. Further, two drawings were reworked by another hand, which in a powerful duct damaged or corrected the idealised rendering of the relief (IX 5159-35-10-1, IX 5159-35-26-1).

Einzelnachweis

1. On Lhuillier’s early period in Rome, see Alan A. Tait, The Adam Brothers in Rome: Drawings from the Grand Tour (London: Scala, in association with Sir John Soane’s Museum, 2008), 126, 133f., 148, and 154; Karen Buttler and Norbert Michels, eds., Sammeln und Zeichnen: Friedrich Wilhelm von Erdmannsdorff in Rome, exh. cat., Dessau, Anhaltische Gemäldegalerie, and Rome, Casa di Goethe (Petersberg: Imhof, 2014), 24–27 and No. 2.3; Georg Kabierske, “A Cache of Newly Identified Drawings by Piranesi and his Studio at the Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe”, Master Drawings, 53 (2015): 147–178, here 159; Georg Kabierske, Der “sculpteur d’ornement” Nicolas Lhuillier (c. 1736–1793) und der “goût à l’antique” in Paris, University of Heidelberg, 2018, Bachelor’s thesis (unpublished); Bénédicte Maronnie, Christoph Frank, and Maria Krämer, “Nouvelle lumière sur l’album de dessins Vogel-Escher de la Zentralbibliothek de Zurich: Copies et circulation de dessins d’architecture et d’ornements dans l’entourage de Johann Joachim Winckelmann, Giovanni Battista Piranesi et Nicolas François-Daniel Lhuillier”, 76, (2019): 19-44, here 24ff; Georg Kabierske, Römische Lehrjahre: Zum Zeichnen und Sammeln von Bauornamentik in Rom in der zweiten Hälfte des 18. Jahrhunderts, 2 vols., University of Munich, 2020, Master’s thesis (unpublished).

2. “connaissance parfaite du style antique et une facilité de dessin peu commune”, quotation from Jacques Guillaume Legrand, “Notice historique sur la vie et les ouvrages de J.B. Piranesi architecte, peintre et graveur né a Venise en 1720 mort a Rome en 1778”, in Georges Brunel, ed., Piranèse et les Français, colloquium, Rome, Villa Medici, May 12–14, 1976 (Rome: Edizioni dell’Elefante, 1978), 221–252., here 241.

3. “il [Clérisseau] [...] lui [Lhuillier] procura des travaux considérables pour divers anglais avec lesquels il [Clérisseau] était en correspondance”, quotation from Georges Brunel, 1978.

4. “Lhuillier, qui avait vécu vingt-deux ans en Italie, qui avait étudié cette science avec Jean-Baptiste Pyranèse dont il faisait les dessins, même avec Winckelmann, se rendit avec Guyard à Paris pour exécuter différents objets d'ornemens pour M. le duc de Lauraguais.” Letter from François-Joseph Bélanger to Antoine Vaudoyer (?), November 19, 1808, quoted in Jean Stern, A l’ombre de Sophie Arnould. François-Joseph Bélanger, 2 vols (Paris: ‎ Librairie Plon, 1930), here vol. 2, 108; Paris, Bibliothèque d’art et d’archéologie, Autographes, Carton 31 (architectes), nos. 13982–13985.

5. Kopenhagen, Kunstbibliothek, inv. 11451 (attributed to Johannes Wiedewelt). First identified by Georg Kabierske.

6. Harsdorff appears to have either acquired drawings by Lhuillier in Rome or copied them afterwards. Bound as “Recueil des Idées de l’Antiquité et des plusieurs Maitres de l’Architecture Assemblées l’An 1767”, these are in unknown Danish private ownership; see Hakon Lund, “Klassicismens arkitekters studierejser: om Harsdorffs, Meyns og C. F. Hansens rejseskitser”, in Architectura: arkitekturhistorisk arsskrift, 53–81, Figs. 7 and 8; Hakon Lund, C. F. Harsdorff: De Byggede Danmark (Copenhagen: Arkitektens Forlag, 2007), 32. Georg Kabierske related the drawings to the style of Lhuillier.

7. Anhaltische Gemäldegalerie Dessau, Museum of Prints and Drawings, e.g., Inv. Z 259, Z 273, Z 274, Z 275, Z 301-Z 336, Z 2816 (with inscription presumably in the hand of Clérisseau?), Z 2847. Christoph Frank recognized that the drawings were related to comparable drawings in the Karlsruhe Albums.

8. Zentralbibliothek Zürich, Vogel-Escher-Album, FA Escher vG.188.6. Bénédicte Maronnie identified the drawings contained in this album as works by and copies after Lhuillier and/or as material from the Piranesi studio.

9. Sir John Soane’s Museum, London, Adam Travel Drawings, vol. 26. In the online database of Soane’s Museum, however, Lhuiller’s name is given as Nicolas François David Lhuiller instead of Nicolas François Daniel Lhuiller. The connection of these drawings to the Karlsruhe Albums was already established by Georg Kabierske in 2014.

10. New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, e.g., Inv. 34.78.2(69), 34.78.2(71), 34.78.2(74), 34.78.2(88), 34.78.2(89), 34.78.2(90). Georg Kabierske was the first to connect these drawings with Lhuillier’s style and the drawings in Karlsruhe as well as those in Soane’s Museum in London.

11. Victoria & Albert Museum, London, Richard Norris, Album of architectural and decorative drawings of Italian buildings, 2 vols.; see vol. 1, e.g., fol. 7, 28; vol. 2, e.g., fol. 3; Christoph Frank kindly drew our attention to these albums; he also identified the drawings they contain as being in the style of Lhuillier.

12. In the private Archivio Palazzotto in Palermo; see Pierfrancesco Palazzotto, “I disegni dall’antico di Giuseppe Venanzio Marvuglia”, in Contro il Barocco: Apprendistato a Roma e pratica dell'architettura civile in Italia 1780–1820. (Rome: Campisano Editore, 2007), 71–80, here 74.

13. New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Album of Ornament Drawings, Inv. 47.112, (unnumbered, counterproof of a candelabra garland relief from the pronaos (portico)of the Pantheon).

14. Besançon, Bibliothèque municipale, Pierre-Adrien Pâris collection, e.g., vol. 454, no. 59, no. 64, no. 65, no. 164, no. 165, no. 167, no. 181, no. 185, no. 253, no. 288; vol. 453, no. 145. First identified as drawings from Lhuillier’s context by Georg Kabierske.

15. Pierre-Joseph Antoine, Recueil de desseins de différens genre, Paris, Bibliothèque de l’Institut National d’Histoire de l’Art, Jacques Doucet collections, Inv. NUM MS 307. First identified as drawings from the context of Lhuillier by Georg Kabierske.

16. Montauban, Musée Ingres, e.g., Inv. MIC.9.65.F, MIC.9.64 B, MIC.9.62 D First identified as drawings from the context of Lhuillier by Georg Kabierske.

17. New York, The Morgan Library & Museum, e.g., 1966.11:26, 1966.11:27, 1966.11:33, 1966.11:35 (previously attributed to Giovanni Battista Piranesi).

18. Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Art Library, e.g., Inv. Hdz. 3447 to 3454; Hdz 3460a, HdZ 3495, HdZ 3508, HdZ 3509, HdZ 3510, HdZ 3511; Hdz. 617 to 619, Hdz 622. Christoph Frank succeeded in identifying these as drawings by Lhuillier.

19. Dublin, National Gallery of Ireland, Inv. NGI.3894, NGI.3972, NGI.3973, NGI.3974; NGI.6017, NGI.6018, NGI.6021 are the models for the counterproofs in the estate of Pierre-Adrien Pâris in Besançon, Bibliothèque municipale, Inv. vol. 453, no. 403, no. 405; vol. 454, no. 253. Georg Kabierske placed these drawings in the context of Lhuillier.

20. London, Sir John Soane’s Museum, anonymous album of a Frenchman with drawings and counterproofs in various hands, Inv. Soane vol. 129, fol. 2, 4, 6, 7, 35, 94–104. During a research trip, Stefan Morét, Maria Krämer, and Georg Kabierske succeeded in placing the sheets in the context of Lhuillier.

21. For example, Ecole française du XVIIIème siècle, Esquisse pour une frise, 215 × 1580 mm, Jean-Marc Delvaux, Dessins Anciens et Modernes, Autographes et Livres, 19.12.2014, lot 10.

22. See Bénédicte Maronnie, Christoph Frank, and Maria Krämer, “Nouvelle lumière sur l’album de dessins Vogel-Escher de la Zentralbibliothek de Zurich: Copies et circulation de dessins d’architecture et d’ornements dans l’entourage de Johann Joachim Winckelmann, Giovanni Battista Piranesi, et Nicolas François-Daniel Lhuillier”, Zeitschrift für Schweizerische Archäologie und Kunstgeschichte, 76, (2019): 19–44. Differing qualities of drawing can be determined in Vogel’s ornamental sheets in the Zentralbibliothek Zurich. Reiffenstein’s letters prove that Vogel both acquired drawings by Lhuillier and copied from them. See also the article on drawing IX 5159-35-38-1.

23. See Alan A. Tait, The Adam Brothers in Rome: Drawings from the Grand Tour (London: Scala, in association with Sir John Soane’s Museum, 2008), 126.

24. Edinburgh, National Records of Scotland, GD18/4817; Robert Adam to James Adam, Rome, September 11, 1756: “I have besides these three [draughtsmen, that is, Clérisseau as well as Brunias and Dewez] another Beagle [Lhuillier] who is the most worthless young dog I ever knew, but draws ornaments to perfection. He it is that I am to set about coppying over all the things I have in a little book for you, that when here you may see what I have & if there is any other thing that you wou'd wish to have done, & he is one of four men at 1 Shill.g p. day.” As is also clear elsewhere in this correspondence, at this time Robert Adam was entertaining the idea of setting up a drawing studio in London under his direction, like he may have experienced for the first time with Piranesi. The Adam Letters are also very informative with regard to the question of authors’ rights of artistic and architectural employees, which was already being discussed intensely at this time.

25. See Georg Kabierske, “A Cache of Newly Identified Drawings by Piranesi and His Studio at the Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe”, Master Drawings, 53 (2015): 147–178, here 159; Stefan Morét, “Due Album di disegni di Giovanni Battista Piranesi e della sua bottega dal lascito dell’architetto Friedrich Weinbrenner (1766–1826): un’introduzione”, in Vita Segreto, ed., Libri e Album di Disegni 1550–1800: Nuove prospettive metodologiche e di esegesi storico-critica (Rome: De Luca Editori d’Arte, 2018), 203–212, here 203; Bénédicte Maronnie, with Christoph Frank and Maria Krämer, “Nouvelle lumière sur l’album de dessins Vogel-Escher de la Zentralbibliothek de Zurich. Copies et circulation de dessins d'architecture et d’ornements dans l’entourage de Johann Joachim Winckelmann, Giovanni Battista Piranesi, et Nicolas François-Daniel Lhuillier”, Zeitschrift für Schweizerische Archäologie und Kunstgeschichte, 76 (2019): 19–44, here 19.

26. New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Inv. 34.78.2(69), 34.78.2(70), 34.78.2(71), 34.78.2(75), 34.78.2(89). In addition, the holdings include other drawings in the style of Lhuillier, which bear no similarity to those in the Karlsruhe Albums. It is not known how they came into Hardwick’s possession, since he was only in Rome after Lhuillier had departed in 1776–1778. It is possible that he received the drawings via Robert Adam, as one sheet bears the inscription “R. Adam”; see Inv. 34.78.2(88).

27. See Georg Kabierske, Römische Lehrjahre: Zum Zeichnen und Sammeln von Bauornamentik in Rom in der zweiten Hälfte des 18. Jahrhunderts, 2 vols., University of Munich, 2020, master’s thesis (unpublished), 26.

28. For François-Joseph Bélanger and other architects, Nicolas Lhuillier executed sculptural decorations in stone or stucco for interiors and facades, including for the following buildings: Paris, Hôtel de Brancas, Pavillon de Bains (1768–1769); Neuilly-sur-Seine, Pavillon de Bagatelle, (1777–1781); Château de Maisons-Laffitte (1779–1781); Paris, Hôtel de Mlle. Dervieux (1785–1789?); Paris, Fontaine des Innocents (1787–1788).

29. Our sincere thanks to Christoph Frank and Peter Fuhring, who independently drew our attention to Chéreau’s sales catalog of 1778; see also Georg Kabierske, Römische Lehrjahre: Zum Zeichnen und Sammeln von Bauornamentik in Rom in der zweiten Hälfte des 18. Jahrhunderts, 2 vols., University of Munich, 2020, master’s thesis (unpublished), 26–28.

30. Berckenhagen incorrectly attributed some of the drawings to the sculptor Clodion; see Ekhart Berckenhagen, ed., Die Französischen Zeichnungen aus der Kunstbibliothek Berlin. Staatliche Museen Preussischer Kulturbesitz. Kritischer Katalog, Berlin, 1970, 360–363. Our sincere thanks go to Christoph Frank, who generously shared his discovery with us as well as his attribution to Lhuillier. For preparatory drawings for the Livre d’Ornements, see Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Kunstbibliothek, Inv. Hdz 3447 to 3454; see ibid.for preparatory drawings for the Recueil d’Ornemens, Inv. Hdz 3460a, HdZ 3495, HdZ 3508 to 3511.

31. Saint Petersburg, State Hermitage Museum, e.g., inv. ОР-1933.

32. See Jean Stern, A l’ombre de Sophie Arnould: François-Joseph Bélanger, 2 vols. (Paris: ‎ Librairie Plon, 1930), here vol. 2, 109. According to Buttler, who does not however cite any sources, Lhuillier returned to Paris in the late 1770s, but this will have to be revised: see Karen Buttler and Norbert Michels, eds., Sammeln und Zeichnen: Friedrich Wilhelm von Erdmannsdorff in Rome, exh. cat., Dessau: Anhaltische Gemäldegalerie, Rome: Casa di Goethe, (Petersberg: Imhof, 2014), 84.

33. “Le sieur l’Huillier a passé dix-sept ans en Italie, à rassembler les Dessins qui formeront la plus grande partie de ce Recueil” (Mr. Lhuillier spent seventeen years in Italy, during which time he collected the drawings that form the major part of this anthology(?)”, Archives Nationales de France MC ET XXII 8, Prospectus. Recueil contenant le Choix des plus beaux ornemens antiques & modernes, dessinés sur les lieux, par M. L’Huillier (…) (17 years); first identified by Christian Baulez: see Christian Baulez, “La vie et l’œuvre de Pierre Gouthière”, in Charlotte Vignon and Christian Baulez, Pierre Gouthière, ciseleur-doreur du roi (Paris: Mare Martin, 2016), 25–81, here 35, fn. 47; see also “Depuis Jean Goujon et Germain Pillon, on n’avait point fait d’ornement [antique; authors’ note] à Paris. Cette science était devenue le jouet du caprice, longtemps abandonné et gâtée par les Lajoue, les Oppenord, les Messonnier, les Pérotte, etc., jusqu’au moment où Lhuillier, qui avait vécu vingt-deux ans en Itali [sic], qui avait étudie cette science avec Jean-Baptiste Pyranèse dont il faisait les dessins, même avec Winckelmann, se rendit avec Guyard à Paris pour exécuter différens objets d’ornements pour M. le duc de Lauraguais” (“Since Jean Goujon and Germain Pillon, no more [ancient; authors’ note] ornaments had been made in Paris. This science had become the plaything of people’s whims, [at first] long abandoned and [then] corrupted by the Lajoues, the Oppenords, the Messonniers, the Perottes, etc. Until the point when Lhuillier returned to Paris with Guyard to execute various ornamental objects for the Duc de Lauraguais. Previously, he had lived in Italy for twenty-two years and studied this science with Jean-Baptiste Pyranèse, for whom [and] even for Winckelmann he made drawings.”) Paris, INHA Doucet, carton Bélanger, letter from F.-J. Bélanger to Vaudoyer (?) dated 10 November 1808; see also Jean Stern, A l’ombre de Sophie Arnould: François-Joseph Bélanger, 2 vols. (Paris: ‎ Librairie Plon, 1930), here vol. 2, 108 (22 years).

34. See Thomas J. McCormick, Charles-Louis Clérisseau and the Genesis of Neo-Classicism, (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1990), 24.

35. Letter from Johann Friedrich Reiffenstein to Johann Heinrich Füssli, Rome November 3, 1764, quoted in: Bénédicte Maronnie, Christoph Frank, and Maria Krämer, “Nouvelle lumière sur l’album de dessins Vogel-Escher de la Zentralbibliothek de Zurich: Copies et circulation de dessins d’architecture et d’ornements dans l’entourage de Johann Joachim Winckelmann, Giovanni Battista Piranesi et Nicolas François-Daniel Lhuillier”, Zeitschrift für Schweizerische Archäologie und Kunstgeschichte, 76 (2019): 19–44, 36f, Appendix 2.

36. See also Georg Kabierske, Der sculpteur d’ornement Nicolas Lhuillier (c. 1736-1793) und der goût à l’antique in Paris, University of Heidelberg, 2018, Bachelor thesis (unpublished).

Nicolas François Daniel Lhuillier (c. 1736–1793) (?), Group 5

Here you will find all the works in Group 5

IX 5159-35-1-2, IX 5159-35-1-3, IX 5159-35-3-3, IX 5159-35-6-3, IX 5159-35-8-1, IX 5159-35-8-2, IX 5159-35-9-3, IX 5159-35-9-4, IX 5159-35-11-1, IX 5159-35-13-2, IX 5159-35-14-3, IX 5159-35-15-3, IX 5159-35-23-1, IX 5159-35-35-1, IX 5159-36-29-1, IX 5159-36-29-2, IX 5159-36-32-4

Characteristic for these drawings is their fine drawing style, which stands out from the works in the preceding group by their fine lines and delicate hatchings, some of which are set very closely (Fig. 1).

Fotomontage vier verschiedener Zeichnungsdetails. — **Fig. 1:** Detail comparison between the relief of a garland sarcophagus, a vine frieze, and the relief of an eagle, Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe, Inv. IX 5159-35-6-3, IX 5159-35-8-1, IX 5159-35-14-3, IX 5159-35-35-1

Predominantly drawn in light red chalk, the light–dark contrast is less pronounced. The more sketch-like drawings create an overall shimmering counterproof (Fig. 2), which gives way to general homogeneity in the more precisely executed drawings (Fig. 3). A comparison of the two drawings of the same sarcophagus with figural representations (Fig. 4) shows that both stages of execution appear to agree stylistically.

Fotomontage aus drei Rötelzeichnungen — **Fig. 2:** Detail comparison between relief of a garland sarcophagus, relief with cultic objects, and lotus-and-palmette frieze, Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe, Inv. IX 5159-35-6-3, IX 5159-35-1-2, IX 5159-35-15-3

Rötelzeichnung eines Wellenrankenfries — **Fig. 3:** Wave pattern tendril frieze with hunting Erotes, lions, and hinds from San Lorenzo fuori le mura (detail), Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe, Inv. IX 5159-35-13-2

Gegenüberstellung zweier Rötelzeichnungen mit gleichem Bildsujet — **Fig. 4:** Detail comparison between reliefs of garland sarcophagi, Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe, Inv. IX 5159-35-6-3 und IX 5159-35-8-1

Here, the almond-shaped, empty-looking eye sockets and hair-like hands with fingertips left open are identical (Figs. 5a and 5b). This also applies to all of the figural elements and the draughtsman’s difficulty in executing them (Fig. 6). The comparison of the two griffin friezes, initially drawn in different media, also shows these similarities (IX 5159-36-29-1, IX 5159-35-14-3) (Fig. 7). The more sketch-like drawing in black chalk corresponds to the rather ephemeral sarcophagus representation in red chalk, which is evident in the somewhat stronger, routine hatching at the edges of the shadows, the figure outlines that have been gone over several times seeking shape, and the hinted at hands and feet (Fig. 8). The eagle and garland relief from the garden façade of the Palazzo Barberini, which is still a sketch here, exists in a second version, drawn to perfection, in the Karlsruhe Albums (IX 5159-35-6-1), which has been assigned to Lhuillier (see Group 4).

Fotomontage mit sechs Köpfen. Jeweils zwei der Köpfe entsprechen einander — **Fig.** 5a: Detail comparison between two representations of reliefs of a garland sarcophagus, Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe, Inv. IX 5159-35-6-3 (top) and IX 5159-35-8-1 (bottom)

Fotomontage mit vier Detailausschnitten von Händen. Jeweils zwei stimmen in der zeichnerischen Anlage überein — **Fig.** 5a: Detail comparison between two representations of reliefs of a garland sarcophagus, Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe, Inv. IX 5159-35-6-3 (top) and IX 5159-35-8-1 (bottom)

Fotomontage aus sechs Zeichnungsfragmenten zweier Zeichnungen aus der Sammlung der Kunsthalle Karlsruhe — **Fig. 6:** Detail comparison between two representations of reliefs of a garland sarcophagus, Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe, Inv. IX 5159-35-6-3 (top) and IX 5159-35-8-1 (bottom)

Gegenüberstellung einer Rötelzeichnung und einer Kreidezeichnung mit gleichem Bildsujet — **Fig. 7:** Detail comparison between vine frieze and frieze with Erotes and griffins, Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe, Inv. IX 5159-35-14-3 and IX 5159-36-29-1

Fotomontage einer Reliefs und eines Fries. — **Fig. 8:** Detail comparison between relief of a garland sarcophagus and frieze with Erotes and griffins, Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe, Inv. IX 5159-35-6-3 und IX 5159-36-29-1

On the one hand, the classical, idealised motifs that recur in his repertoire, such as selected garland and vine friezes, reliefs, and soffits, speak in favor of assigning this group of works to Lhuillier. Further, the uniform hatching of the relief ground and the careful elaboration of the finalised motifs also match. However, the specific way of drawing hands, of creating angular outlines of figures by multiple retracing, as well as the lack of definition in the sketch-like studies (e.g. IX 5159-35-1-2, IX 5159-35-1-3, IX 5159-35-6-3, IX 5159-35-8-2, IX 5159-35-15-3, IX 5159-36-29-1) are details found only in the collections of drawings that come directly from the Piranesi workshop. This applies to the Karlsruhe Albums, the back section of the Vogel-Escher album^[1] in the Zentralbibliothek Zurich, and the Piranesi collection in the Morgan Library in New York. As far as is known so far, such sketch-like drawings are completely absent from the collections of drawings assembled during Lhuillier’s active period in Rome (i.e., the 1750s and 1760s), such as those of the Adam brothers and other artists and architects that travelled to Rome. Assuming that Lhuillier was indeed more directly involved in Piranesi’s studio, his own preliminary studies may have been preserved there, and he sold only finalised ornamental representations to outsiders. In the case of the Erotes garland relief, the damage to the original is documented in the more sketchy drawing (IX 5159-35-9-4)), while Lhuillier’s other drawings reproduce the ancient building ornament in an idealised state. On the other hand, the exclusive presence of these drawings in the three collections (Karlsruhe, Zurich, New York) might also indicate the presence of another person’s drawing hand close to Lhuillier who was only active in the studio.

The fact that the drawings in this group also have a direct connection to Giovanni Battista Piranesi is evidenced by indications of provenance in his handwriting on two drawings (IX 5159-35-3-3, IX 5159-35-13-2) as well as a date that is possibly also in his hand (IX 5159-35-8-1) (Fig. 9). These inscriptions are in the same light reddish chalk used in the drawings, as though they were written directly in connection with them. In the case of two drawings, moreover, these give the counterproof that the representation of the respective relief field was “staged” by a second hand, possibly that of Giovanni Battista Piranesi, through the addition of base sections (IX 5159-35-8-1, IX 5159-36-32-4)).

Fotomontage dreier Beschriftungen auf Zeichnungen aus Band 1 der Piranesi-Klebebände — **Fig. 9:** Detailed comparison between inscriptions on a frieze with palmettes and acanthus flowers, wave pattern tendril frieze, and garland sarcophagus, Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe, Inv. IX 5159-35-3-3, IX 5159-35-13-2 and IX 5159-35-8-1

Notwithstanding, it cannot be ruled out that there was another draughtsman in the Piranesi studio who executed drawings in a similar manner to Lhuillier. This does not include the Eagle Relief (IX 5159-35-35-1), however, because this precise and clear red chalk drawing definitely corresponds to Lhuillier’s characteristic drawing style.

Einzelnachweis

1. Zentralbibliothek Zurich, Vogel-Escher Album, FA Escher vG.188.6.

Nicolas François Daniel Lhuillier (c. 1736–1793) or copy after Lhuillier (?), Group 6
Here you will find all the works in Group 6
IX 5159-35-2-2, IX 5159-35-2-3, IX 5159-35-4-2, IX 5159-35-7-2, IX 5159-35-11-2, IX 5159-35-13-1, IX 5159-35-16-1, IX 5159-35-16-2, IX 5159-35-17-1, IX 5159-35-17-2, IX 5159-35-18-1, IX 5159-35-19-1, IX 5159-35-23-3, IX 5159-35-24-1, IX 5159-35-25-1, IX 5159-35-25-2, IX 5159-35-29-1, IX 5159-35-30-3, IX 5159-35-30-3v, IX 5159-35-32-1, IX 5159-35-32-1v, IX 5159-35-33-1, IX 5159-35-48-1, IX 5159-35-50-1, IX 5159-36-22-1, IX 5159-36-22-2, IX 5159-36-22-3, IX 5159-36-22-4, IX 5159-36-22-5, IX 5159-36-23-1, IX 5159-36-23-2, IX 5159-36-23-3, IX 5159-36-23-4, IX 5159-36-24-1, IX 5159-36-24-2, IX 5159-36-24-3, IX 5159-36-24-4, IX 5159-36-25-1, IX 5159-36-25-2, IX 5159-36-25-3, IX 5159-36-25-4, IX 5159-36-26-1, IX 5159-36-26-2, IX 5159-36-26-3, IX 5159-36-26-4, IX 5159-36-27-1, IX 5159-36-27-2, IX 5159-36-27-3, IX 5159-36-27-4, IX 5159-36-28-1, IX 5159-36-31-1, IX 5159-36-31-1v
The motifs within this group belong to the repertoire of ornaments that Lhuillier reproduced several times in his drawings for the Adam brothers, David Vogel, and other travellers to Rome. However, as the drawings exist in different qualities and stages of elaboration, they could potentially be copies made after Lhuillier. Lhuillier reproduced his sheets both by taking counterproofs that could be reworked and by making copies in his own hand. As a result, almost identical drawings ended up in the collections of various people (see the essays “Rosette Drawings” and “The Counterproof”, e.g., IX 5159-35-11-2, IX 5159-36-25-2, IX 5159-35-19-1).^[1] In the case of David Vogel, written sources document that he not only bought drawings from Lhuillier, but that Lhuillier also gave him drawing lessons, in which he copied his teacher’s designs.^[2] The student works are more likely to be present in Vogel's Rosette Album,^[3] while the Vogel-Escher Album contains mainly qualitatively perfected sheets in Lhuillier’s style. Such variations in quality can also be seen in other collections of drawings such as those of the Adam brothers, Pierre-Joseph Antoine, Johannes Wiedewelt, Pierre-Adrien Pâris, and Thomas Hardwick, which is why it can be assumed that other architects and artists in Rome also copied from Lhuillier.^[4] In principle, caution is advised when making an individual attribution, since Lhuillier’s students, when copying these ornaments, also adapted their teacher’s specific style of drawing in chalk, which makes it difficult to distinguish precise hands. Even though Lhuillier did not invent this technique (see Group 4), his drawing style had “brand recognition” at the time and in 1790 had not beenforgotten in Italy. This is demonstrated by an entry in the travel journal of Léon Dufourny (1754–1818), who at that time saw a “very beautiful series of ornament studies and architectural fragments drawn in black pen on blue paper in the manner of L’huillier” at the home of his fellow architect Giuseppe Venanzio Marvuglia in Palermo.^[5] This compendium of antique motifs, one drawing of which is actually inscribed with the name “L'huillier,” is now in the private Archivio Palazzotto in Palermo.^[6] It is not clear whether these are copies by Marvuglia after Lhuillier, with whom he apparently had contact during his studies in Rome in 1747–1759, or whether they areoriginal drawings by the Frenchman. Among the drawings in this group, Group 6, are four copies (IX 5159-35-18-1, IX 5159-35-25-2, IX 5159-35-33-1) of originals that range from sketchy drawings to perfectly executed motifs. In the drawing IX 5159-35-25-2, the “migration of motifs” can be traced via Lhuillier drawings in various collections to a potential original by Lhuillier’s teacher Charles-Louis Clérisseau, now held in the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg.^[7] In addition, in this drawing, contours and important interior lines had begun to be traced in pen and ink, a procedure that was fully executed in drawing IX 5159-35-29-1 and even supplemented by a wash. As a kind of practice sheet, it could have been used in drawing lessons to practice correct line work.
Several friezes, two reliefs with Victoria goddesses and trophies, and a soffit make up a subgroup (IX 5159-35-4-2, IX 5159-35-13-1, IX 5159-35-16-1, IX 5159-35-16-2, IX 5159-35-17-1, IX 5159-35-19-1, IX 5159-35-24-1, IX 5159-35-25-1, IX 5159-35-50-1), in which the drawings are executed less perfectly and in a much faster, sketchier style. Since indistinct details from the friezes have been repeated larger at the edge (Fig. 1), partly in a somewhat naive manner, one can assume that this is the hand of a drawing student who was still struggling with difficulties in elaborating the figures and their complex fusion with the tendrils. In the case of the soffit (IX 5159-35-17-1), a fine grid can even be seen under the drawing (Fig. 2). This was obviously used to transfer the motif correctly from an original drawing to the paper. If the squares had been superimposed on the finished drawing afterwards, this would suggest a further copying process into a drawing or another medium. It is difficult to say whether this was a drawn template or whether it was used to transfer the ancient relief. In principle, the drawings of ancient marble friezes and reliefs could also have been made on site and for this reason are sketch-like. For it is hardly conceivable that Lhuillier drew his finalised drawings without making any preparatory studies of the original building decorations on site.

Fig. 1: Comparison of details between vine frieze and relief with Victoria goddess and trophy, Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe, Inv. IX 5159-35-16-1; IX 5159-35-19-1, details Fig. 2: Square soffit with leafy vines and central flower, Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe, Inv. IX 5159-35-16-1; IX 5159-35-19-1
Fig. 2: Square soffit with leaf tendrils and central flower, Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe, Inv. IX 5159-35-17-1
Also sketch-like and with heavy strokes in black pen are the frieze (IX 5159-35-7-2) and pilaster shaft (IX 5159-35-11-2), which in parts were accentuated very strongly. In the case of the pilaster shaft, an entire chain of the motif can be traced that illustrates the copying practice: from Lhuillier’s drawings to Giovanni Battista Piranesi’s use of the motif in an imaginative facade design in Parere sull architettura (Plate 5) (see catalog entry).
The largest subgroup, however, consists of rosettes, the majority of which are reworked counterproofs and are related to many other collections (see essay “Rosette Drawings”). Three sheets bear location information in the handwriting of Giovanni Battista Piranesi^[8] (IX 5159-36-23-4, IX 5159-36-24-1, IX 5159-36-27-3), which attests to the drawings being used in the Piranesi studio.
In Rome, Lhuillier’s drawings appear to have had an enduring reception as models, even after the French artist returned to Paris in 1768. Apparently, draughtsmen and architects continued to copy his drawings that remained there. This is suggested by drawings by Jean-Baptiste-Marc-Antoine Descamps^[9] (1742–1836; in Rome 1773–1782)^[10] and Thomas Hardwick^[11] (1752–1829; in Rome 1777–1779). Although the practice of copying drawings was part of the normal course of study for fellows at the Académie de France in Rome, it remains unclear to what extent Lhuillier and his drawings were associated with this institution. One could assume that Francesco Piranesi also copied from Lhuillier’s drawings, but due to his young age probably not until around the mid-1760s. He had access to such models in his father’s studio and may also have been used as models during drawing lessons. Pierre-Adrien Pâris, who taught Francesco architectural drawing, also owned drawings in the style of Lhuillier, which are now in his estate in the Bibliothèque municipale in Besançon.^[12] Thus in his immediate environment, Francesco had various possible points of access to these very common drawings, copies of which in turn augmented the studio’s collection of motifs. Because of these processes in creating the drawings, it is difficult to define Francesco’s hand in the series of copies, beyond making a qualitative assessment.
Einzelnachweis
1. See Georg Kabierske, Römische Lehrjahre: Zum Zeichnen und Sammeln von Bauornamentik in Rom in der zweiten Hälfte des 18. Jahrhunderts, 2 vols., University of Munich, 2020, Master’s thesis (unpublished), 37–52.
2. The drawings by Lhuillier in the estate of David Vogel were first identified by Bénédicte Maronnie. Through written sources discovered by Christoph Frank, the connection with Lhuillier could be verified; see Bénédicte Maronnie with Christoph Frank and Maria Krämer, “Nouvelle lumière sur l’album de dessins Vogel-Escher de la Zentralbibliothek de Zurich: Copies et circulation de dessins d’architecture et d’ornements dans l’entourage de Johann Joachim Winckelmann, Giovanni Battista Piranesi et Nicolas François-Daniel Lhuillier”, Zeitschrift für Schweizerische Archäologie und Kunstgeschichte, 76 (2019): 19–44, here 26–29.
3. In the course of Bénédicte Maronnie’s research on the Vogel-Escher Album in Zurich, it emerged in discussions with Christoph Frank that the Rosette Album, until recently in the possession of the Avery Architectural Library at Columbia University in New York (call number: AA3450 D79 F), actually belongs to the holdings of the Zentralbibliothek Zurich. This album is also from the estate of Hans Caspar Escher in Felsenhof, see Donation Book, year of 1859. It must have gone missing at some unknown point in time. Columbia University returned the album to the Zentralbibliothek in January 2022 (call number: FA Escher v.G. 188.6a). See Bénédicte Maronnie with Christoph Frank and Maria Krämer, “Nouvelle lumière sur l’album de dessins Vogel-Escher de la Zentralbibliothek de Zurich: Copies et circulation de dessins d’architecture et d’ornements dans l’entourage de Johann Joachim Winckelmann, Giovanni Battista Piranesi et Nicolas François-Daniel Lhuillier”, Zeitschrift für Schweizerische Archäologie und Kunstgeschichte, 76 (2019): 19–44, here 29.
4. For precise details about the collections, see Group 4.
5. “trés belle Suite d’études d’ornemens et fragmens d’architecture dessiné a la pierre noire sur papier bleu dans le genre de L'huillier,” quotation from Dufourny’s original French manuscript held at the Bibliothèque nationale de France in Paris; see also Geneviève Bresc-Bautier, ed., Léon Dufourny: Diario di un giacobino a Palermo, 1789–1793 (Palermo: Fondazione Culturale Lauro Chiazzese, 1991), 108. Pierfrancesco Palazzotto brought Dufourny’s travel journal and the mention of Lhuillier in it to our attention in the summer of 2018, for which we sincerely thank him. See also Pierfrancesco Palazzotto, “I disegni dall’antico di Giuseppe Venanzio Marvuglia”, in Contro il Barocco: Apprendistato a Roma e pratica dell'architettura civile in Italia 1780–1820. (Rome: Campisano Editore, 2007), 71–80, here 74.
6. Ibid.
7. St. Petersburg, Hermitage Museum, inv. 2137; on the complete “chain of motifs” established thus far, see Georg Kabierske, Römische Lehrjahre: Zum Zeichnen und Sammeln von Bauornamentik in Rom in der zweiten Hälfte des 18. Jahrhunderts, 2 vols., University of Munich, 2020, Master’s thesis (unpublished), 42f, case study 3.
8. See the comparison with Giovanni Battista Piranesi’s handwriting, for example, in New York, Morgan Library & Museum, Inv. 1966.11.67.
9. So far only drawings listed under Descamp’s monogram “DC”, which appear to reference source material by Lhuillier; they can be found in Waddesdon Manor, Inv. 1943, 1944, and in the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Kunstbibliothek, Inv. Hdz. 6448 and 6449. Eckhard Berckenhagen already recognized their proximity to similar motifs in the Recueil d’ornemens, but without knowing about its connection to Lhuillier; see Eckhard Berckenhagen, Die Französischen Zeichnungen aus der Kunstbibliothek Berlin. Staatliche Museen Preussischer Kulturbesitz, Kritischer Katalog, Berlin 1970, 407.
10. Aude Henry-Gobet, “De la province de Normandie à la Ville Eternelle: Les élèves de l’école de dessin de Rouen à Rome au XVIIIe siècle”, Studiolo, no. 6, 2008, Revue d’histoire de l’art de l’académie de France à Rome, 145–165, here 151 and 162, note 48.
11. See his collection in New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, e.g., inv. 34.78.2(74), 34.78.2(75), 34.78.2(77).
12. Besançon, Bibliothèque municipale, Pierre-Adrien Pâris Collection, e.g., vol. 454, no. 59, no. 64, no. 65, no. 164, no. 165, no. 167, no. 181, no. 185, no. 253, no. 288; vol. 453, no. 145.

Nicolas François Daniel Lhuillier (c. 1736–1793) or copy after Lhuillier (?), Group 7

Here you will find all the works of Group 7

IX 5159-35-3-2, IX 5159-35-13-3, IX 5159-35-14-1, IX 5159-35-14-2, IX 5159-35-15-4

The antique wave pattern tendril reliefs in this group are executed in a uniform drawing style. As with drawings from the previous Group 6, the motif is reminiscent of Lhuillier, but the drawings are far below his quality of draughtsmanship. There are similar drawings in the Adam brothers collection^[1] in Sir John Soane’s Museum, in the Hardwick holdings of the Metropolitan Museum (Fig. 1), and in the second album by the architect Pierre-Joseph Antoine (1730–1814) in the INHA (Fig. 2).^[2]

Zeichnung mit schwarzer Kreide eines antiken Wellenrankenfries — **Fig. 1:** Copy after Nicolas Lhuillier, Antique Wave Pattern Tendril Friezes, 1755–1768 (?) or 1776–1779 (?), black chalk, 192 × 368 mm, New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, inv. 34.78.2(90).
Public Domain Mark 1.0

Radierung antiker Wellenrankenfriese — **Fig. 1:** Copy after Nicolas Lhuillier, Antique Wave Pattern Tendril Friezes, 1755–1768 (?) or 1776–1779 (?), black chalk, 192 × 368 mm, New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, inv. 34.78.2(90).
Public Domain Mark 1.0

On the one hand, these could have been first studies of the ancient originals drawn on site, and on the other hand, they could have been copied from Lhuillier’s models during the drawing classes in the studio. One drawing shows a grid (IX 5159-35-14-2), which indicates a transfer, for example, into a fair copy. In three others, location information was noted in the margin, whereby at least one inscription (IX 5159-35-15-4) definitely corresponds to the hand of Giovanni Battista Piranesi. The drawing IX 5159-35-14-1 was compared with Sketchbook A, fol.66v in Modena (Fig. 3); the drawing IX 5159-35-3-2 was compared with a note on a design for a fireplace in the Kunstbibliothek (Inv. Hdz. 6305) (Fig. 4) which could also possibly be attributed to Piranesi.

Bildmontage aus zwei Details von Zeichnungen aus der Sammlung der Staatlichen Kunsthalle Karlsruhe und der Biblioteca Estense mit Beshriftungen von der Hand Piranesis. — **Fig. 3:** Detailed comparison between inscription on the drawing of a frieze of wave pattern tendrils, Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe, Inv. **IX 5159-35-14-1**, and the handwriting of Giovanni Battista Piranesi, pen and brown ink, 1750s, Modena, Biblioteca Estense, Taccuino A, fol. 66v.

**Fig. 3:** Detailed comparison between inscription on the drawing of a frieze of wave pattern tendrils, Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe, Inv. **IX 5159-35-14-1**, and the handwriting of Giovanni Battista Piranesi, pen and brown ink, 1750s, Modena, Biblioteca Estense, Taccuino A, fol. 66v.

Einzelnachweis

1. London, Sir John Soane’s Museum, Adam Collection, vol. 26/38, 39, 41, 49, 54, 75, 77, 79, 87, 154.

2. Pierre-Joseph Antoine, Recueil de desseins de différens genre, Paris, Bibliothèque de l’Institut National d’Histoire de l’Art, Jacques Doucet Collections, Inv. NUM MS 307, fol. 69; this drawing is probably a copy after Nicolas Lhuillier, made by Antoine during his stay in Rome 1761–1763.

Unidentified draughtsmen of the Piranesi Studio, Group 8

Here you will find all the works in Group 8

IX 5159-35-4-3, IX 5159-35-5-1, IX 5159-35-6-2, IX 5159-35-13-4, IX 5159-35-15-5, IX 5159-35-15-6, IX 5159-35-15-7, IX 5159-35-17-3, IX 5159-35-21-3, IX 5159-35-22-2, IX 5159-35-28-1, IX 5159-35-29-2, IX 5159-35-30-1, IX 5159-35-30-2, IX 5159-35-31-4, IX 5159-35-42-1, IX 5159-35-43-1, IX 5159-36-30-1v, IX 5159-36-32-3

The drawings in this group are all executed in black chalk and depict a variety of ancient ornamental reliefs, sarcophagi, and urns; they also include designs for Piranesi’s works in marble, which are drawn with the help of construction lines, and also motifs that were used in his etchings. In the case of the drawing showing fireplace designs (IX 5159-35-30-1), Giovanni Battista Piranesi himself was involved as a draughtsman; he may also have had a hand in revising other drawings. Basically, however, this group of drawings has stylistic characteristics in common that point instead to an unidentified draughtsman of the Piranesi studio.

In contrast to the previous stylistic groups associated with Lhuillier, here the background surfaces of the reliefs or even sculptural elements are only partially covered with predominantly oblique line hatching that varies in intensity and often appears hastily drawn (Fig. 1). In order to introduce contrasts and depth effects in certain places, the chalk stick was sometimes pressed heavily on the outlines (Fig. 2).

Fotomontage aus vier Zeichnungsdetails — **Fig. 1:** Detail comparison between Etruscan sarcophagus, vase with sea horses, sarcophagus pediment, and breastplate of a colossal statue, Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe, IX 5159-35-43-1, IX 5159-36-32-3, IX 5159-35-15-6 andIX 5159-35-4-3

Fotomontage aus vier Zeichnungsdetails mit schwarzer Kreide — **Fig. 1:** Detail comparison between Etruscan sarcophagus, vase with sea horses, sarcophagus pediment, and breastplate of a colossal statue, Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe, IX 5159-35-43-1, IX 5159-36-32-3, IX 5159-35-15-6 andIX 5159-35-4-3

One sees that the draughtsman had difficulties in rendering hands, which almost disappear on smaller figures (Fig. 3) and appear as paw-like, two-fingered hands on larger ones (Fig. 4).

Detailvergleich zweier Auschnitte aus Kreidezeichnungen — **Fig. 3:** Pedestal with Erotes and detailed study of a fireplace, Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe, IX 5159-35-21-3 and IX 5159-35-30-1

Fotomontage zweier Ausschnitte mit Händen — **Fig. 4:** Comparison of details between cinerary urn and Etruscan sarcophagus, Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe, IX 5159-35-28-1 and IX 5159-35-43-1

In addition, in the drawings IX 5159-35-15-5, IX 5159-35-15-6, IX 5159-35-15-7, IX 5159-35-21-3, IX 5159-35-28-1, IX 5159-35-30-1, faces are indicated only with short horizontal strokes for the mouth and nose and sparse angular hooks for the eye sockets (Fig. 5). In profile, the noses are depicted as acute angles and the eyes are slit-shaped (Fig. 6), which can also be seen in the depiction of a sphinx on a fountain at the Villa Albani, which is in the Piranesi collection of the Morgan Library in New York (Fig. 7).

Fotomontage zweier Zeichnungen — **Fig. 5:** Detail comparison between a study of a fireplace and a pedestal with Erotes, Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe, IX 5159-35-30-1 andIX 5159-35-21-3

Fotomontage aus drei Zeichnungsdetails mit Profilansichten verschiedener Gesichter — **Fig. 5:** Detail comparison between a study of a fireplace and a pedestal with Erotes, Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe, IX 5159-35-30-1 andIX 5159-35-21-3

Fotomontage zweier Ausschnitte von Zeichnungen mit Sphinxen — **Fig. 7:** Comparison of details between sarcophagus pediment, Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe, IX 5159-35-15-7, and drawing by an unidentified draughtsman of the Piranesi studio, fountain at the Villa Albani in Rome, black chalk, 1770s (?), New York, © The Morgan Library & Museum, bequest of Junius S. Morgan and gift of Henry S. Morgan, 1966.11:112

Larger heads in frontal view (IX 5159-35-30-1, IX 5159-35-30-2, IX 5159-35-4-3, IX 5159-35-42-1, IX 5159-35-43-1) are somewhat more detailed, but here as well some of the mouths are rendered as a dark line and the eyes as deep, empty sockets (Fig. 8).

Fotomontage dreier Zeichnungsdetails — **Fig. 8:** Comparison of details between the breastplate from the colossal statue, cinerary urn, and detailed studies for three fireplaces, Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe, IX 5159-35-4-3, IX 5159-35-30-2 and IX 5159-35-30-1

These particular features of the drawing style are also found in two drawings of capitals (IX 5159-35-18-3, IX 5159-35-29-3), which are possibly linked to Francesco Piranesi (1756?–1810) (see Group 10) (Figs. 9 and 10).

Fotomontage aus zwei Zeichnungen, davon eine Rötelzeichnung — **Fig. 9:** Detail comparison between sarcophagus pediment and capital, Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe, **IX 5159-35-15-7** **and** **IX 5159-35-29-3**

Fotomontage aus drei Zeichnungsdetails mit Putten und Knaben — **Fig. 10:** Detail comparison between study of a fireplace, figural capital, and pedestal with Erotes, Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe, IX 5159-35-30-1, IX 5159-35-18-3 and IX 5159-35-21-3

To what extent Piranesi’s eldest son Francesco can be considered the author of the Group 8 drawings cannot be answered definitively on the basis of the comparative material known to date; further discussion is necessary.^[1] In general, some of these drawings can be directly linked to various projects of Giovanni Battista Piranesi, so that in any case a draughtsman working in his immediate environment would be an obvious choice.

Einzelnachweis

1. The study of chimneys IX 5159-35-30-1 is a special case. Given the possible dating of the drawing (see catalog text), it is difficult to imagine it being attributed to Francesco Piranesi.

Unidentified pupils of the Piranesi Studio, Group 9
Here you will find all the works contained in Group 9
IX 5159-35-4-1, IX 5159-35-9-2, IX 5159-35-12-1, IX 5159-35-12-2, IX 5159-35-12-3, IX 5159-35-19-2, IX 5159-35-19-3, IX 5159-35-19-4, IX 5159-35-21-2, IX 5159-35-22-3, IX 5159-35-23-2, IX 5159-35-29-4, IX 5159-35-31-2, IX 5159-35-31-3, IX 5159-35-34-5, IX 5159-35-35-2, IX 5159-35-40-2, IX 5159-35-40-3, IX 5159-36-8-7, IX 5159-36-9-1, IX 5159-36-15-4, IX 5159-36-32-1, IX 5159-36-32-2
This group consists of drawing exercises of antique ornaments or reliefs and exhibits common characteristics that point to one or more hands still learning. The execution of the faces and body parts depicted in profile — especially the hands (Fig. 1) and the disproportionate arms — as well as the anthropomorphic animal heads (Fig. 2) are clumsily and stiffly executed in several places. The inner corners of the eyes are heavily contoured and the forehead is furrowed (Fig. 3). In other cases, the faces are only schematically indicated (Fig. 4). Bold or less bold hatching and zigzag lines indicate fractures in the marble of the models (Fig. 5). These drawings, too, were intermittently reworked with a greasier black pen to emphasise certain contours or particular sections.
Fig. 1: Detail comparison between a relief with a female figure, and a relief with a hunt and a kneeling Arimaspi, Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe, IX 5159-36-8-7, IX 5159-35-9-2 and IX 5159-35-4-1
Fig. 2: Detail comparison between a capital with Pegasus, kneeling Arimaspi, and a fragment of a frieze with seahorses, Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe, IX 5159-35-29-4, IX 5159-35-4-1 and IX 5159-35-40-3
Fig. 3: Detail comparison between a funerary altar and an urn (? ), Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe, IX 5159-35-19-3 and IX 5159-36-32-2
Fig. 4: Detail comparison between frieze with seahorses, relief with hunt, and sarcophagus relief, Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe, IX 5159-35-40-3, IX 5159-35-9-2 and IX 5159-35-21-2
Fig. 5: Detailed comparison between cassette column fragment and frieze with seahorses, Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe, IX 5159-35-19-4 and IX 5159-35-40-3
Two subgroups can be determined. One, consisting of drawings IX 5159-35-23-2, IX 5159-36-32-1 and IX 5159-35-19-2, exhibits a more intensive use of black chalk. The other subgroup, consisting of sarcophagus reliefs and urns (IX 5159-35-19-3, IX 5159-35-21-2, IX 5159-35-22-3, IX 5159-35-31-3, IX 5159-35-34-5, IX 5159-35-35-2, IX 5159-36-32-2), is characterised by careful execution without marking the fractures and with finely painted parallel hatching on the background sections. Characteristics common to both subgroups are the similar execution of laurel leaves (Fig. 6) and the facial features with taut eyebrows and stronger contours or shading in the corners of the mouth and inner corners of the eyes (Fig. 7). In this group, too, the eyes are indicated by a simple horizontal line on the forehead in drawings IX 5159-35-22-4, IX 5159-35-30-4 and IX 5159-35-34-5 (Fig.7).

Fig. 6: Detail comparison between sarcophagus relief and urn (?), Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe, IX 5159-35-22-3 and IX 5159-36-32-2
Fig. 7: Detail comparison between frieze with seahorses, cassette column fragment and relief Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe, IX 5159-35-40-3, IX 5159-35-19-4 and IX 5159-35-35-2
The contours are irregularly reinforced with short strokes (Fig. 8). They show some signs of clumsiness, including in the architectural elements such as the capitals (Fig. 9). The execution of the small figures is also related to the style of the stroke-like contour lines (Fig. 10). With regard to authorship, the only known members of the studio who can be shown to have trained there are Giovanni Battista Piranesi’s children. There may also have been other apprentices, but no evidence of this has so far come to light. Piranesi probably worked in his studio with a small group of draughtsmen for practical reasons. Presumably, no more than four or five draughtsmen were involved in any one drawing.^[1]
Fig. 8: Detail comparison between candelabrum base, cinerary urn, and sarcophagus relief, Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe, IX 5159-35-30-4, IX 5159-35-34-5, IX 5159-35-22-4
Fig. 9: Detail comparison between sarcophagus relief and cinerary urn, Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe, IX 5159-35-22-3 and IX 5159-35-34-5
Fig. 10: Detail comparison between cinerary urn, relief, and funerary altar, Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe, IX 5159-35-31-3, IX 5159-35-35-2 and IX 5159-35-19-3
In the literature, the role of Francesco Piranesi has been especially emphasised. He was born around 1756 or 1758 and, according to Jacques-Guillaume Legrand, began his drawing studies in the early 1770s.^[2] Francesco learned architectural drawing from the French architect Pierre-Adrien Pâris (1745–1819), who lived in Rome from 1771 to 1774 as a pensionnaire of the Académie de France in Rome, and was in contact with Giovanni Battista. Given his age, Francesco may also have begun his studies in the late 1760s and benefited from the presence of other draughtsmen such as Charles-Louis Clérisseau (in Rome until 1767). He probably knew the Frenchman’s drawings that existed in Rome. Nothing is known of any direct contact with Lhuillier. However, it cannot be ruled out that Francesco copied from his drawings in the context of the studio (cf. Group 6). In view of this, a considerable number of drawings in the Karlsruhe Albums could be in Francesco’s hand, but their style is difficult to define as individual because of the practice of copying in the studio. According to his biographer Legrand, Francesco learned landscape drawing from the brothers Jacob Philipp (1737–1807) and Johann Gottlieb Hackert (1744–1773), who had lived in Rome since 1768. He studied nude drawing in the context of the Académie de France in Rome and with Domenico Corvi (1721–1803). Thus Francesco’s training as a draughtsman seems to have taken place partly outside his father’s studio with specialized artists, probably chosen by Giovanni Battista.^[3] These may have included Giuseppe Cades (1750–1799) (cf. Group 14). In any case, Francesco must have taken part in his father’s activities at a very early age, because as early as 1771, at the age of 13, he was allowed to accompany his father on a trip to the Villa Hadriana in Tivoli.^[4]
The eldest child of the family, Laura Piranesi (1754–at least until 1789), an excellent etcher, is also a candidate for the author of drawings created in the context of drawing lessons. Unlike her signed series of small prints of vedute, only two drawings signed by her have survived, which, however, still need to be scrutinised closely.^[5] And as Laura etched in the studio, she must have made drawings as well. Almost nothing is known about her training, which certainly took place in her father’s studio; only a few inscribed sheets in Sketchbook B in Modena have been attributed to her so far.^[6] Shortly after her father’s death in 1778, she married and left the Palazzo Tomati. Scant information attests that she was artistically involved in the studio’s business; after 1789, no traces of her have been found in the archives.^[7]
Angelo Piranesi (1763–1782) has been credited with several drawings, including one in the Modena Sketchbook B.^[8] Several archive documents indicate that Angelo died of an illness four years after his father’s death and that he was involved in the studio’s business. Given his date of birth, he must have begun drawing in the 1770s. In Sketchbook B in Modena, a drawing with his signature is dated 1777. On this basis, drawings of an urn in the Altieri Collection have been attributed to him in the same sketchbook. A drawing dated and signed in 1776 is also preserved in the Album Amicorum of Aernout Vosmaer (1720–1799)^[9], but Giovanni Battista probably contributed to it.
Pietro Piranesi (1773–?), on the other hand, was too young to have been drawing during Giovanni Battista’s lifetime. He accompanied his brother Francesco to Paris in 1799 and was involved in running the business of the Chalcographie Piranesi frères there.
With regard to the Piranesi children, special attention must be paid to the development of the drawing styles over the years. However, the known materials do not allow any precise definition of the drawing style of each child and how it developed. The largest number of drawings for comparison held in museums are by Francesco,^[10] but he seems to have had a markedly changeable capacity for drawing, depending on context and need.
Einzelnachweis
1. See also the reference by Bent Sørensen in John Wilton-Ely, Piranesi, Paestum and Soane (Munich: Prestel Publishing, 2013), 68f. The archival sources in Rome do not mention any other draughtsmen employed in Piranesi’s studio, but they do mention several etchers. More detailed research on this topic will be published in the dissertation by Bénédicte Maronnie, which is currently in preparation.
2. Jacques-Guillaume Legrand dated Francesco’s birth to 1758 (Gilbert Erouart and Monique Mosser, “À propos de la ‘Notice historique sur la vie et les ouvrages de J.- B. Piranesi’: origine et fortune d’une biographie”, in Piranèse et les français, colloquium, Rome, Villa Medici, May 12–14, 1976, ed. Georges Brunel (Rome: Edizioni dell’Elefante 1978), 213–252, here 250). See also the baptism certificate in Valeria Mirra, Un’impresa culturale e commerciale: La Calcografia Piranesi da Roma a Parigi (1799–1810), Università degli Studi Roma Tre 2010/11, dissertation (unpublished), 19, note 20. In the necrologue (Discours, prononcé sur la tombe de M. François Piranesi) written in 1810, of which only one copy is known to exist, now in Stockholm, Francesco’s death at the age of 54 is mentioned. Accordingly, this means he was born in 1756. On the necrologue, see ibid, 197f, and Rossana Caira Lumetti, La cultura dei lumi tra Italia e Svezia: Il ruolo di Francesco (Rome: Bonacci Editore, 1990), 235. On the relationship between Francesco Piranesi and Pierre-Adrien Pâris, see Pierre Pinon, Pierre-Adrien Pâris (1745–1819), architecte, et les monuments antiques de Rome et de la Campanie (Rome: École française de Rome, 2007), 5.
3. Gilbert Erouart and Monique Mosser, “À propos de la ‘Notice historique sur la vie et les ouvrages de J.- B. Piranesi’: origine et fortune d’une biographie”, in Piranèse et les français, colloquium, Rome, Villa Medici, May 12–14, 1976, ed. Georges Brunel (Rome: Edizioni dell’Elefante 1978), 213–252; Valeria Mirra, Un’impresa culturale e commerciale: La Calcografia Piranesi da Roma a Parigi (1799–1810), Università degli Studi Roma Tre 2010/11, dissertation (unpublished), 16–39.
4. John Pinto and William Lloyd MacDonald, Hadrian’s Villa and Its Legacy (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1995, 247.
5. Two drawings with the same theme, “The Fireworks over the Castel Sant’Angelo”, under the name of Laura Piranesi, have appeared on the art market. They are associated with the coloured print made by Francesco in collaboration with Jean-Louis Desprez in the early 1780s. Possibly they are copies of the same print. It has not yet been possible to examine the two drawings in detail and classify them.
6. See Mario Bevilacqua, Piranesi: Taccuini di Modena, 2 vols., vol. 1, Riproduzione dei Taccuini Campori della Biblioteca Estense Universitaria (Rome: Artemide Edizioni, 2008), 220–223. However, the attribution of these inscriptions to Laura remains uncertain.
7. Cf. Bénédicte Maronnie, “‘Sulle singolari tracce del padre’: Laura Piranesi ‘incisora,’” in Giambattista Piranesi: Sognare il sogno impossibile, exh. cat. Rome, Istituto Centrale per la Grafica, Rome 2020, n. p. (online publication).
8. Cf. Mario Bevilacqua, Piranesi: Taccuini di Modena, 2 vols., vol. 1, Riproduzione dei Taccuini Campori della Biblioteca Estense Universitaria (Rome: Artemide Edizioni, 2008), 207, 242–243, c. 25–28. The attribution is based on Angelo's drawing (signed and dated 1776, but probably revised by his father) contained in the Album Amicorum put together by the Dutchman Aernout Vosmaers around 1776.
9. On Vosmaer, see F.L. Bastet et al., eds., De Verzameling van mr. Carel Vosmaer (1826–1888), exh. cat. Rijksprentenkabinet, Amsterdam, 1989 (The Hague: SDU, 1989); Bent Sørensen, “Piranesi, Grandjacquet and the Warwick Vase”, The Burlington Magazine, 145 (2003): 792–795.
10. Attributed to Francesco Piranesi are, for example: Florence, Uffizi Gallery, Gabinetto dei disegni, inv. Santarelli 6446, 6647, 6648; two chalk drawings in Stockholm, National Library of Sweden, manuscript HS/S21 (published in Rossana Caira Lumetti, La cultura dei lumi tra Italia e Svezia: Il ruolo di Francesco (Rome: Bonacci Editore, 1990), 288); Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Kunstbibliothek, Inv. Hdz 6299 (see Sabine Jacob, ed., Italienische Zeichnungen der Kunstbibliothek Berlin, Architektur und Dekoration 16. bis 18. Jahrhundert, Berlin 1975, 177, no. 901); Biblioteca Estense Modena, Taccuino B, Inv. (see Mario Bevilacqua, Piranesi: Taccuini di Modena, 2 vols., vol. 1, Riproduzione dei Taccuini Campori della Biblioteca Estense Universitaria (Rome: Artemide Edizioni, 2008), 206–209).
Unidentified draughtsman of the Piranesi Studio, Group 10
Here you will find all the works in Group 10
IX 5159-35-18-3, IX 5159-35-29-3, IX 5159-35-31-1, IX 5159-35-32-5
This group consists of four drawings of composite capitals. Three were executed with red chalk in combination with black pen or graphite (IX 5159-35-18-3, IX 5159-35-29-3, IX 5159-35-31-1). The fourth drawing (IX 5159-35-32-5) is drawn entirely in black chalk, repeating the capital in IX 5159-35-29-3. Two of the capitals (IX 5159-35-29-3 and IX 5159-35-31-1) were reproduced by Francesco Piranesi in etchings, which he included as additional plates in the second volume of Vasi, candelabri after his father’s death in 1778 (Figs. 1 and 2).
Fig. 1: Comparison between details of a capital, Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe, Inv. IX 5159-35-31-1, and Francesco Piranesi, Three Fragments Found in Hadrian’s Villa in Tivoli, in Vasi, candelabri, 1790, etching, 386 × 247 mm (printing plate), Madrid, Biblioteca de la Universidad Complutense, BH GRL 13(113).
CC BY-NC 4.0
Fig. 2: Comparison between details of a capital, Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe, Inv. IX 5159-35-29-3, and Francesco Piranesi, Capital of the Palazzo Massimo, in Vasi, candelabri, 1791, etching, 392 × 277 mm (printing plate), Madrid, Biblioteca de la Universidad Complutense, BH GRL 13(113)
CC BY-NC 4.0
It is possible that Francesco was involved in the execution of the drawings in this group, because in IX 5159-35-18-3 the figures show a certain stylistic affinity to his frontispiece design that is in the Kunstbibliothek Berlin, especially in the depiction of the faces with short horizontal strokes, the elaboration of the body with only a few lines, and the unbalanced proportioning of the arms and legs (Fig. 3).

Fig. 3: Detailed comparison between Francesco Piranesi, dedication to Ferdinand IV, ca. 1777–1778, pen and ink in brown, brown and gray wash, traces of black pen, 473 × 685 mm, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Kunstbibliothek, Hdz 6299; and IX 5159-35-18-3
CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
The winged Erotes of IX 5159-35-29-3, with their facial profiles with hooked noses, slit-like eyes, and the hatching of the bodies with small strokes also match drawings in Group 8 (for example, IX 5159-35-15-7, Fig. 4).

Fig. 4: Detail comparison between sarcophagus pediment and capital, Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe, Inv. IX 5159-35-15-7 and IX 5159-35-29-3
In his later publications, Francesco also drew on drawings by his father that had been in the sstudio’s collection of motifs for some time. Therefore, qualitative differences in the drawings, especially in IX 5159-35-31-1, could also be indications that both Giovanni Battista Piranesi and his son Francesco Piranesi worked on these drawings.
Several unidentified draughtsmen of the Piranesi workshop, Group 11
Here you will find all the works in Group 11
IX 5159-35-39-1, IX 5159-35-40-1, IX 5159-35-44-1, IX 5159-35-45-1, IX 5159-35-46-1, IX 5159-35-47-1, IX 5159-35-49-1, IX 5159-36-30-1
To date, no other examples of the large candelabra drawings are known either in museum collections or in private ownership.^[1] They appear to be representative of collective authorship in the studio context and appear to suggest the distribution of drawing work among various specialised draughtsmen. As Christoph Frank and Georg Kabierske have shown on the basis of the Adam brothers’ correspondence, it was common practice for Robert Adam to hire different draughtsmen in Rome for different drawing typologies (architectural drawing, ornamental drawing, final drawing) (See essay on the Adam correspondence).^[2] In Piranesi’s case, the systematic production of designs for works in marble from antique set pieces (pasticci) and restoration of antique objects, such as candelabra, began in the mid-1760s.^[3] Their exact process of their design can now be examined for the first time on the basis of the Karlsruhe Albums drawings. These are preparatory compositions for etchings, but not the final drawings on oiled paper by which the motif was transferred to the printing plate. Such final drawings used for the transfer are very rarely preserved (see essay “Copied with oil and water”). It is possible that some candelabra drawings were not only intended for realiing the printed composition, but were also created as a design project for a restoration or a new creation. In these drawings, the basic structures of the object were first drawn with a ruler and compasses. The detailed ornamental parts, such as the cornucopia on the Rython candelabrum (IX 5159-36-30-1, Fig. 1), the serpentine handles on the Stowe vase (IX 5159-35-39-1, Fig. 2), or the birds and claws of the Newdigate candelabrum (IX 5159-35-46-1, Fig.3) are in contrast to the other more geometric parts of the composition.

Fig. 1: Rhyton candelabrum (detail), Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe, Inv. IX 5159-36-30-1
Fig. 2: Stowe vase (detail), Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe, Inv. IX 5159-35-40-1
Fig. 3: Newdigate candelabrum (detail), Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe, Inv. IX 5159-35-46-1

Giovanni Battista Piranesi had overall responsibility for the studio, from conception to realisation, which required among other things the constant supervision of the staff, who created the final drawings, and the sculptors and restorers who were needed. His presence, and that of the studio, can be seen in the many details that were added and the revisions inside and around the margins of the drawings (Fig. 4).
Fig. 4: Newdigate candelabrum (detail), Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe, Inv. IX 5159-35-46-1
However, the process remains unclear as to how, from Piranesi’s own very cursory sketches of ideas (e.g., Sketchbook B in Modena, fol. 9v-10), these compositions were arrived at, which are very precisely formulated by the studio. So far, it has not been possible to identify by name the multi-facetted hands of the studio’s staff.
Einzelnachweis
1. In the Vogel-Escher album in the Zentralbibliothek Zurich, there is a large-format frontal view of the Albano altar, but it belongs to an earlier publication; see FA Escher vG.188.6, fold 13, drawing 28. It testifies rather to an interest in archaeology rather than to advertising the studio’s newly created or restored marble compositions as with the later drawings for the prints in Vasi, Candelabri.
2. Literature on the correspondence of the Adam brothers: Thomas J. McCormick, Charles-Louis Clérisseau and the Genesis of Neo-Classicism (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1990), 24; Georg Kabierske, Römische Lehrjahre: Zum Zeichnen und Sammeln von Bauornamentik in Rom in der zweiten Hälfte des 18. Jahrhunderts, 2 vols, University of Munich 2020, Master’s thesis (unpublished), 16–20.
3. The context of this turn in Piranesi’s production is explained in more detail in Bénédicte Maronnie’s dissertation, currently in preparation, in connection with the drawings.
Francesco Piranesi (1756?-1810) (?), Group 12
Here you will find all the works in Group 12
IX 5159-35-18-5, IX 5159-36-14-6, IX 5159-36-17-2
In the Kunstbibliothek art library, Berlin (Inv. Hdz. 6299), there is a design for a dedication page ornament inscribed with the name Francesco Piranesi, which until now has been considered one of the most important clues for identifying his drawing style around 1778. On this basis, these three wash drawings can be attributed to Francesco Piranesi. The drawing was probably created at the end of Giovanni Battista Piranesi’s life as the dedication to Ferdinand IV (King of the Two Sicilies) of the Paestum print series, but it was never realised as an etching. Francesco was at least 20 years old at this time and a trained draughtsman by virtue of his education and through working alongside his father. The muscular and elongated arms (Fig. 1), the hands that sometimes end in drop-shaped fingers and sometimes in pointed ones, as well as the faces and robes (Fig. 2) are characteristics of this drawing style. It is also found in the drawings of figures in Group 13.
Fig. 1: Detailed comparison between Francesco Piranesi, dedication to Ferdinand IV, ca. 1777–1778, pen and ink in brown, brown and gray wash, traces of black pen, 473 × 685 mm, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Kunstbibliothek, Hdz 6299 (Photo credit: Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Kunstbibliothek, Fotograf: Dietmar Katz) and Tabula ansata, Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe, Inv. IX 5159-35-18-5
CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Fig. 2: Francesco Piranesi, dedication to Ferdinand IV, ca. 1777–1778, pen and ink in brown, brown and gray wash, traces of black pen, 473 × 685 mm, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Kunstbibliothek, Hdz 6299 (Photo credit: Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Kunstbibliothek, Fotograf: Dietmar Katz) and monument with three allegories, Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe, Inv. IX 5159-36-17-2
CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Francesco Piranesi (1756?–1810) (?), Group 13
Here you will find all the works in Group 13
IX 5159-36-4-3, IX 5159-36-4-4, IX 5159-36-4-5, IX 5159-36-7-2, IX 5159-36-8-5, IX 5159-36-9-3, IX 5159-36-9-5, IX 5159-36-9-7, IX 5159-36-10-1, IX 5159-36-10-2, IX 5159-36-10-3, IX 5159-36-10-5, IX 5159-36-12-6, IX 5159-36-12-6v, IX 5159-36-17-4, IX 5159-36-17-5
This group is related to the group of Piranesi drawings in the Morgan Library in New York. It includes three other drawings (see inv. 1966.11.128, 1966.11.129, 1966.11.130, fig. 1) of statues from famous contemporary Roman private collections (Lancelotti, Mattei, Giustiniani, Farnese), which underlines the common provenance of both bodies of works.
Fig. 1: Detailed comparison between Francesco Piranesi, dedication to Ferdinand IV, ca. 1777–1778, pen and ink in brown, brown and gray wash, traces of black pen, 473 × 685 mm, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Kunstbibliothek, Hdz 6299 (Photo credit: Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Kunstbibliothek, Fotograf: Dietmar Katz) and Seated Nymph, Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe, Inv. IX 5159-36-4-5
CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Technical analysis by Maria Krämer revealed that these papers originally belonged to a sketchbook. In the literature the drawings have been attributed to the hand of Francesco Piranesi on the basis of comparison with the drawing of a frontispiece in the Kunstbibliothek Berlin (Inv Hdz. 6299).^[1] Common characteristics are the round faces, the straight shape of the noses, the small mouths drawn with a broad stroke, the muscular arms and pointed fingers, and the design of the robes. Some of the sketches in pen have a brown wash. These drawings form a stylistically unified group within this body of works. Although they correspond to the Berlin drawing, they differ stylistically from the figure drawings attributed to Francesco in Sketchbook B in Modena (Fig. 2). These were made in 1777 during the journey to Paestum. It therefore remains questionable whether Francesco can be considered the draughtsman of both figure types, which were created almost at the same time. Other staffage figures in the drawings for the Pompeii prints series as well as later drawings now in Stockholm should be taken into account; however, but they cannot be treated in this context.
Fig. 2: Francesco Piranesi (?), figure studies, black pen, 184 × 132 mm, Universitaria di Modena, Biblioteca Estense, Raccolta Campori, Camp.522=Gamma.Y.6.32, cc. 47r und 57r
CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Einzelnachweis
1. Cf. Sabine Jacob, ed., Italienische Zeichnungen der Kunstbibliothek Berlin, Architektur und Dekoration 16. bis 18. Jahrhundert, Berlin 1975, 177, no. 901, inv. Hdz 6299. In Mario Bevilacqua: Piranesi, Taccuini di Modena, 2 vols, Rome 2008, vol. 1, 213, the drawings of the statues in Roman collections are associated with the publication of the print series Choix des meilleurs statues antiques (the plates are dated between 1781 and 1783), published by Francesco with a dedication to Reuterholm. However, this connection still needs to be substantiated (see text on figure drawings).

Copy after Giuseppe Cades (1750–1799) (?), Group 14

Here you will find all the works in Group 14

IX 5159-36-1-1, IX 5159-36-1-1v, IX 5159-36-1-2, IX 5159-36-1-4, IX 5159-36-2-1, IX 5159-36-2-2, IX 5159-36-2-3, IX 5159-36-2-6, IX 5159-36-3-1, IX 5159-36-3-2, IX 5159-36-3-3, IX 5159-36-3-4, IX 5159-36-3-5, IX 5159-36-4-1, IX 5159-36-4-2, IX 5159-36-5-2, IX 5159-36-5-3, IX 5159-36-5-4, IX 5159-36-5-5, IX 5159-36-6-1, IX 5159-36-6-2, IX 5159-36-6-3, IX 5159-36-6-4, IX 5159-36-6-5, IX 5159-36-6-6, IX 5159-36-6-7, IX 5159-36-7-1, IX 5159-36-7-3, IX 5159-36-7-4, IX 5159-36-7-5, IX 5159-36-8-1, IX 5159-36-8-2, IX 5159-36-8-3, IX 5159-36-8-4, IX 5159-36-8-6, IX 5159-36-9-2, IX 5159-36-9-4, IX 5159-36-10-4, IX 5159-36-10-6, IX 5159-36-11-2, IX 5159-36-11-3, IX 5159-36-11-4, IX 5159-36-11-5, IX 5159-36-11-7, IX 5159-36-12-1, IX 5159-36-12-2, IX 5159-36-12-3, IX 5159-36-12-4, IX 5159-36-12-5, IX 5159-36-12-7, IX 5159-36-12-8, IX 5159-36-13-1, IX 5159-36-13-1v , IX 5159-36-13-2, IX 5159-36-13-3, IX 5159-36-13-4, IX 5159-36-13-7, IX 5159-36-13-8, IX 5159-36-13-9, IX 5159-36-14-1, IX 5159-36-14-1v, IX 5159-36-14-2, IX 5159-36-14-3, IX 5159-36-14-4, IX 5159-36-14-5, IX 5159-36-16-2, IX 5159-36-16-3, IX 5159-36-16-4, IX 5159-36-16-6, IX 5159-36-16-7, IX 5159-36-16-8, IX 5159-36-17-1, IX 5159-36-36-17-3, IX 5159-36-17-6, IX 5159-36-18-1, IX 5159-36-18-2, IX 5159-36-18-3, IX 5159-36-20-1, IX 5159-36-20-2, IX 5159-36-20-3, IX 5159-36-20-4, IX 5159-36-20-5

Even if the first impression suggests otherwise, the studies of figures in this group are also closely related to Piranesi’s studio. Their contours and the folds of their robes were drawn with fine lines. Characteristic are the two-dimensional shadings, which consist of individual strokes meticulously placed parallel to each other (Fig. 1). These run roughly along the folds of the drapery, are laid partially over the body or face, and fill the eye sockets. The draughtsman also had difficulty drawing hands and feet, which are therefore only outlined or there has been an attempt to conceal them (Fig. 2).

Zeichnung einer stehenden Figur — **Fig. 1:** Male robed figure, Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe, Inv. IX 5159-36-8-4

Fotomontage aus fünf Zeichnungsfragmenten — **Fig. 1:** Male robed figure, Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe, Inv. IX 5159-36-8-4

These stylistic idiosyncrasies resemble those found in early signed and dated pen and ink drawings by the Roman artist Giuseppe Cades (1750–1799), produced in the period 1762–1764 (Fig. 3).^[1]

**Fig. 3:** Giuseppe Cades, *Christ and the Twelve Apostles*, 1763, pen and brown ink, each approx. 283 × 122 mm, Christie’s, A South American Private Collection, Dec. 5, 2019, lot 149.

Two further drawings, stylistically probably from the same period, were offered for sale in 2018 by Crispian Riley-Smith Fine Arts Ltd. in London.^[2] Erroneously labelled “French School, 18th Century”, these pen-and-ink drawings laid over black chalk, bear an old signature “G. Cades d’après l’Antique” at bottom right.^[3] They are an almost identical match to two other drawings in this group (IX 5159-36-2-2, IX 5159-36-6-3, Figs. 4 and 5). What is more, Cades was demonstrably acquainted with the Piranesi family. He drew a portrait of Giovanni Battista, which was etched posthumously by Francesco in 1779 to be inserted as a frontispiece in the second edition of the Antichità Romane, published in 1784.^[4]

**Fig. 4:** Comparison between figure study, Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe, Inv. IX 5159-36-2-2, and Giuseppe Cades, figure study of an ancient statue, c. 1764 (?), black chalk, pen and ink in brown and brown wash, Crispian Riley-Smith Fine Arts Ltd., London, 2018.

Authorship of the young Cades for the entire Karlsruhe group appears stylistically possible, but it is less likely due to the absence of his otherwise confidently placed signature. Instead, in the course of drawing lessons in the Piranesi studio, the drawings could have been copied from Cades or from a graphic template used for both versions. On the grounds of age, the two oldest of the Piranesi children, Laura, born in 1754, and Francesco, born around 1756(?), would be eligible (see also Group 10). According to Legrand, Francesco did not begin proper drawing studies until the early 1770s,^[5] but he may have been taught the basics earlier, in the late 1760s, by Giuseppe Cades. Extensive copying of model drawings, including imitation of the respective drawing style, was part of common teaching practice at the time.

That the entire group is in any case studio material is undoubtedly proven by a pen and ink drawing by Giovanni Battista Piranesi on the reverse of drawing IX 5159-36-12-5v (Fig. 6, see also catalog entry) as well as the further use of individual figures in the Vasi, candelabri (see, for example, IX 5159-36-20-1) and the Antichità d’Albano. This also speaks for the fact that we are probably dealing here with redrawings by a member of the studio.

Fotomontage aus recto und verso einer Zeichnung — Fig. 6: Standing male robed figure and design of a cartouche (?), Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe, Inv. IX 5159-36-12-5 and IX 5159-36-12-5v

Within the group, two subgroups can be determined: Drawings IX 5159-36-1-3, IX 5159-36-1-5, IX 5159-36-13-5, IX 5159-36-13-6, IX 5159-36-14-7, IX 5159-36-15-2, IX 5159-36-15-3 depict ancient relief scenes drawn somewhat more summarily with sketchier outlines. Drawings IX 5159-36-1-1, IX 5159-36-1-1v, IX 5159-36-2-1, IX 5159-36-3-3, IX 5159-36-4-1, IX 5159-36-5-3, IX 5159-36-6-4, IX 5159-36-11-2, IX 5159-36-17-6 have been partially reworked with a strong duct and routine zigzag hatching.

Einzelnachweis

1. These early drawings are as follows: Paris, Musée du Louvre, Inv. RF 36019 recto; Christie’s, London: A South American Private Collection, 5 December 2019, Lot 142 (viewed on 23.11. 2021), see also Maria Teresa Caracciolo, Giuseppe Cades: 1750–1799 et la Rome de son temps (Paris: Arthema, 1992), 8.1–12; Foolscap Fine Art, Gouda, Netherlands, Giuseppe Cades, The Rest on the Flight to Egypt (recto); Studies of Figures and Architecture (verso).

2. In 2019 Georg Kabierske identified these drawings for the first time and accociated them with the Karlsruhe Albums.

3. London, Crispian Riley-Smith Fine Arts Ltd., A Statue after the Antique and A Female Statue, after the Antique (viewed on 23.11.2021).

4. Maria Teresa Caracciolo, Giuseppe Cades, 1750–1799, et la Rome de son temps (Paris: Arthema, 1990), 69, 433; Maria Teresa Caracciolo, “Giuseppe Cades (Rome, 1750–1799) et son imitateur: Complément au catalogue raisonné”, Les Cahiers d’Histoire de l’Art, 6 (2008): 123–153. On the etching of the portrait of Piranesi, see also Legrand in Gilbert Erouart and Monique Mosser, “À propos de la ‘Notice historique sur la vie et les ouvrages de J.-B. Piranesi’: origine et fortune d’une biographie”, in Piranèse et les français, colloquium, Rome, Villa Medici, 12–14 May 1976, ed. Georges Brunel (Rome: Edizioni dell’Elefante 1978), 226.

5. Gilbert Erouart and Monique Mosser, “À propos de la ‘Notice historique sur la vie et les ouvrages de J.-B. Piranesi’: origine et fortune d’une biographie”, in Piranèse et les français, colloquium, Rome, Villa Medici, 12–14 May 1976, ed. Georges Brunel (Rome: Edizioni dell’Elefante 1978), 213–252, here 250.

Friedrich Weinbrenner (1766–1826) and workshop, Group 15

Here you will find all the works in Group 15

IX 5159-36-28-2, IX 5159-36-29-1v

The two drawings in this group were added to the existing collection of drawings from the Piranesi workshop via Friedrich Weinbrenner. One drawing (IX 5159-36-28-2) belongs to Weinbrenner’s own drawings of his travels in Italy, of which there are numerous comparable ones in the holdings of the Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe (Fig. 1). One view of the Casino Rafaello of the Villa Borghese was drawn by Weinbrenner on paper with the same watermark (Fig. 2).^[1] The other drawing (IX 5159-36-29-1v) was probably sketched onto the back of an older drawing later when the collection of drawings was used as teaching material in Weinbrenner’s School of Architecture.^[2] This is a griffin-lyre frieze that was used as decorative stucco work in buildings by Weinbrenner or his students.^[3] Comparable, very cursory sketches of this type also exist in the drawings of his students, such as in the estate of the architect Wilhelm Thierry (1761–1823) in Philadelphia.^[4]

Zeichnung mit Feder und Graphit eines Ausschnittes des Reliefs vom Konstantinsbogen — **Fig. 1:** Friedrich Weinbrenner, Relief from the Arch of Constantine in Rome, 1792–1797, graphite, pen with sepia ink and wash, 246 × 152 mm, Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe, Inv. IX 5159-29-5.

Zeichnung mit Feder und Graphit eines Gebäudes mit angrenzender Parkanlage — **Fig. 1:** Friedrich Weinbrenner, Relief from the Arch of Constantine in Rome, 1792–1797, graphite, pen with sepia ink and wash, 246 × 152 mm, Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe, Inv. IX 5159-29-5.

When the drawings were pasted into the albums, it is possible their relationship to each other was known, since they were inserted on two consecutive pages in the second album. The ornamental sketch was deliberately pasted in such a way that one could flip between the older front page from Piranesi’s studio and the back of the page from Weinbrenner’s time.

Einzelnachweis

1. Our thanks to Maria Krämer for kindly pointing out the context of the watermarks.

2. The architecture students in Weinbrenner’s school were required to copy the drawings as a study exercise. This is evidenced by tracings on tracing paper contained in the album of Heinrich Geier: KIT Karlsruhe, Archiv für Architektur und Ingenieurbau (SAAI), album of Heinrich Geier; see also Georg Kabierske, “Weinbrenner und Piranesi: Zur Neubewertung von zwei Grafikalben aus dem Besitz Friedrich Weinbrenners in der Staatlichen Kunsthalle Karlsruhe”, in Brigitte Baumstark, Joachim Kleinmanns, and Ursula Merkel, eds., Friedrich Weinbrenner, 1766–1826: Architektur und Städtebau des Klassizismus, exh. cat. Karlsruhe, Städtische Galerie and Südwestdeutsches Archiv für Architektur und Ingenieurbau (Petersberg: Imhof, 2015), 2 ed., 75–87, here 84 and n. 11. 47; Stefan Morét, “Due Album di disegni di Giovanni Battista Piranesi e della sua bottega dal lascito dell’architetto Friedrich Weinbrenner (1766–1826): un’introduzione”, in Vita Segreto, ed., Libri e Album di Disegni 1550–1800: Nuove prospettive metodologiche e di esegesi storico-critica (Rome: De Luca Editori d’Arte, 2018), 203–212, here 211f.

3. Georg Kabierske pointed out that the motif had existed in the Karlsruhe Palace, in the Margravial Palace, and on the facade of Brousell’s House, and that it is still found today in the Weimar Palace in Heidelberg.

4. University of Pennsylvania, Architectural Archives, Friedrich Weinbrenner — Thiery Collection (019). See also David B. Brownlee, ed., Friedrich Weinbrenner, Architect of Karlsruhe: A Catalogue of the Drawings in the Architectural Archives of the University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1986).

Other groups of drawings
Four special groups were defined for the drawings that could not yet be assigned:
Special Cases
IX 5159-35-2-1, IX 5159-35-4-1v, IX 5159-35-6-3v, IX 5159-35-9-1, IX 5159-35-9-5, IX 5159-35-10-2, IX 5159-35-18-2, IX 5159-35-23-3v, IX 5159-35-34-2, IX 5159-35-34-6, IX 5159-35-40-1v, IX 5159-35-41-1, IX 5159-35-41-2, IX 5159-35-44-1v, IX 5159-36-16-5, IX 5159-36-18-4
There are individual drawings that cannot be assigned to any of the above groups because of their individual style. Sometimes, however, comparable drawings can be found in other collections; this is explained in the respective catalog number.

Non-definable
IX 5159-35-2-2v, IX 5159-35-9-6, IX 5159-35-9-6v, IX 5159-35-9-7, IX 5159-35-17-4, IX 5159-35-17-4v, IX 5159-35-18-4, IX 5159-35-19-6, IX 5159-35-21-3v, IX 5159-35-22-3v, IX 5159-35-23-2, IX 5159-35-29-3v, IX 5159-35-30-6, IX 5159-35-30-6v, IX 5159-35-31-2v, IX 5159-35-31-3v, IX 5159-35-32-3, IX 5159-35-32-4, IX 5159-35-33-2v, IX 5159-35-33-4, IX 5159-35-34-1, IX 5159-36-2-1v, IX 5159-36-13-3v, IX 5159-36-14-3v
For some drawings, it is difficult to define a stylistic classification because there is currently insufficient evidence.

Substantial revisions
Here you will find all of the works that bear substantial traces of revision
IX 5159-35-10-1, IX 5159-35-35-1, IX 5159-35-42-1
Some drawings can be classified according to other criteria than those suggested here. For example, some drawings were reworked in a second work step in an energetic duct, which will be shown here in three selected examples. This could be a key feature to show a cross-connection between individual drawings within the groups that were initially deemed stylistically unrelated.

Verso Inscriptions
Here you will find all of the works with verso inscriptions
IX 5159-35-10-1v, IX 5159-35-19-6v, IX 5159-35-35-1v, IX 5159-36-32-1v
Fragmentary inscriptions are preserved on individual versos, when papers no longer needed for the studio’s work processes were re-used as waste paper. The writing fragments therefore do not always indicate a front page. Among the various fragments of handwriting, Giovanni Battista Piranesi’s hand was also identified.

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Stylistic groups of the Piranesi Drawings

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Stylistic groups of the Piranesi Drawings

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GND terms

Version history

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