Mogliano 1720 - 1778 Rome

Spaccato interno della Basilica di S. Paolo fuori delle Mura (1st State), 1749

St. Paolo fuori le Mura: Interior

Etching

410 x 605 mm.; 16 1/8 x 23 3/4 inches

Reference:

Hind 7-I/VII

Notes:

An extremely rare impression of the 1st State (of seven states) before the addition, in the 2nd State, of the address of Piranesi’s early representatives Bouchard and Gravier. In such very early Piranesi impressions, there is a unique silvery quality which is no longer present in later impressions. The reason for this is that as Piranesi printed his plates, the artist saw those plates weakening. To compensate for this weakening, the plates were more heavily inked and more strongly printed. This resulted in a gradual loss of details and a diminishing of subtlety found in the rare, earliest impressions such as this one.