Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Dazzling display of Piranesi drawings and French prints

THE British Museum has twin exhibitions in Room 90 in adjacent spaces – one on some 50 drawings by the 18th century Italian ‘polymath’ Giovanni Battista Piranesi, and the other a collection of 80 wonderful French prints by such artists as Manet, Degas, Cézanne, Gauguin and Toulouse-Lautrec.

“Why Piranesi?” asks Sarah Vowles, the Smirnov family curator of Italian and French prints and drawings at the British Museum, who has curated Piranesi drawings: Visions of antiquity.


She answers the question: “Part of the answer to that is 2020 is the 300th anniversary of his birth. He was born in 1720 in Venice, moved to Rome in 1740 and made a reputation for himself over the next 40 years as a polymath – becoming renowned as a printmaker, publisher, antiquarian, art dealer and designer. His work has a power and a creative energy that feels as fresh and vibrant today as it did in the 18th century.”

It is pointed out that “the department of Prints and Drawings at the British Museum contains the national collection of Western prints and drawings…It is one of the top three collections of its kind in the world. There are approximately 50,000 drawings and over two million prints dating from the beginning of the 15th century up to the present day.”

Hugo Chapman, the Simon Sainsbury keeper of prints and drawings at the British Museum, says: “Piranesi’s etchings of Rome and of fantastical architecture are well known, but far less familiar is the scintillating brilliance of his drawings in which he rehearsed and honed his graphic talents.

“Such is the power of his singular vision that it continues to excite and inspire architects, filmmakers, video game designers and other creative minds to this day.”

One critic has said that Piranesi “paved the way to Hogwarts” and inspired Blade Runner and Harry Potter. “Syd Mead’s sets for Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner (1982) reveal Los Angeles in 2019. With their intermeshing, 700-storey corporate headquarters, rough-and-tumble markets stalls, floating video adverts, industrial flames, acid rain and flying police cars, these are Piranesian streets for science fiction aficionados.

“Piranesi is there, too, in the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (2001). Production designer Stuart Craig brought the moving staircases of JK Rowling’s Hogwarts School to life so that they turn within a vertiginous hall, all doorways, further stairs and endless rooms above, below and beyond.”

Piranesi’s sole architectural work of importance was the restoration of the church of Santa Maria del Priorato in the Villa of the Knights of Malta, on Rome’s Aventine Hill, where he was buried after his death in 1778.

Vowles also says Piranesi “is best known for his views of Rome which almost single-handedly defined how generations of armchair travellers saw the city. But also his prints …continue to influence designers and artists today. His influence really has been astonishing but his prints are only part of his story. That is why we have chosen to focus on his drawings. Many exhibitions in the past have looked at his prints but his drawings are less well known.”

She explains: “The element of fantasy is also acutely important throughout. One gets a sense of his obsessively fertile imagination just spilling out onto the paper. He always regarded himself as an architect – that’s his dream. As he had few opportunities to practise that in life, I think many of these pictures form the outlets for his creative energy.

“If this exhibition has one overriding message it is this: for Piranesi drawing was not just a way to prepare composition for the copper plate, it was a dynamic vital act of exploration and a vision all in its own right.”

In the adjoining space, Jennifer Ramkalawon, curator of prints and drawings at the British Museum, is responsible for putting together French Impressions: Prints from Manet to Cézanne.

The last exhibition on French prints was in 1978.

She says: “Etching bridged the gap between painting and engraving. Most of the artists knew each other – Paris was a small place.”

Highlights of the exhibition include Manet’s rare 1862 print Le Ballon, of which only five impressions are known to survive. Other works include two examples of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec’s colourful prints of actresses and Parisian music-hall stars.

There is a comment from Hartwig Fischer, director of the British Museum: “This period produced some of the great names of Western art and I am delighted that our exhibition will highlight some astonishing – if little-known – examples of their work. It demonstrates how important the British Museum’s extensive prints and drawings collection is to the story of European art.”

Piranesi drawings: Visions of antiquity, and French Impressions: Prints from Manet to Cézanne can be viewed in Room 90 at the British Museum until August 9, 2020. Admission is free.

More For You

Abishek & Nirmal

We’re also both very physical with our humour and play off each other well

Instagram/ theabishekkumar

Abishek & Nirmal return with chaotic new comedy show at Soho and Edinburgh Fringe

After a smash-hit UK debut, India’s most-watched crowd-work comedy duo is back – and this time, they’re armed with an even wilder new show. Abishek and Nirmal: The Great Indian Positivity House invites audiences into a bizarre world where you can anonymously confess your darkest deeds and most questionable opinions.

Staged at Soho Theatre in London from July 21–25, the show will then head to the Edinburgh Fringe in August. It promises their signature fast-paced crowd work and razor-sharp improvisation. With no two shows ever the same, they aim to make every night unrepeatable and unforgettable. Eastern Eye caught up with the dynamic duo to talk about comedy chemistry, on-stage secrets and their biggest influences.

Keep ReadingShow less
Priyanka Chopra

Priyanka Chopra opens up about an on-set injury while filming Heads of State

Youtube Screengrab/Prime Video

Priyanka Chopra says she nearly lost her eye while filming action scene in 'Heads of State'

Priyanka Chopra Jonas has opened up about a minor but shocking accident that occurred while filming her new action-comedy Heads of State, which premieres on Prime Video on 2 July. Appearing on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, the actor recalled how she injured her face during a high-intensity scene, losing a piece of her eyebrow in the process.

The incident took place during a rainy stunt scene that required her to fall and roll on the ground as the camera closed in. “The camera operator came in a little closer, I came in a little closer, and boom! The matte box hit me right here,” she said, pointing to her eyebrow. “It took out a chunk. I was lucky it didn’t take my eye.”

Keep ReadingShow less
Priyanka Chopra Joins Vikas Khanna for Rath Yatra-Themed Dinner in New York

Priyanka Chopra enjoys traditional Indian feast at Vikas Khanna’s NYC hotspot

Instagram/jerryxmimi

Vikas Khanna hosts Priyanka Chopra for a Rath Yatra-themed dinner in New York

Priyanka Chopra Jonas found a taste of home far from home this week. The global star, alongside her manager Anjula Acharia and friends, enjoyed a memorable meal at Michelin-starred chef Vikas Khanna's New York City restaurant, Bungalow.

Honouring heritage and handicrafts over dinner

Keep ReadingShow less
Orlando Bloom Katy Perry breakup

Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom clash over space flight as breakup rumours grow

Getty Images

Orlando Bloom told Katy Perry her space trip looked 'ridiculous', say insiders as breakup rumours intensify

Things seem rocky between long-time couple Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom, with new reports suggesting an argument about Perry’s recent space flight may have added fuel to an already burning fire.

The pop star, who joined an all-female crew for a Blue Origin flight in April, reportedly didn’t get the reaction she hoped for from Bloom. A source claims the actor called the trip “embarrassing” and “ridiculous” during a heated exchange, leaving Perry hurt and confused by the lack of support. Despite publicly backing her before the launch and even being photographed at the site, Bloom allegedly changed his tune behind closed doors.

Keep ReadingShow less
Vijay

Vijay's best performances

Vijay at 51: 7 roles that brings out the actor in the 'mass' hero

Vijay can make a theatre erupt with just his presence. He is often boxed into labels like ‘mass hero’, ‘box-office king’ and ‘Thalapathy’. While those titles fit (no arguments there), they also distract from the core truth – Vijay’s immense acting ability.

As he turns 51 on June 22, it is the perfect time to look beyond the superstardom and revisit seven standout performances that reveal the powerhouse actor beneath the mass-hero persona.

Keep ReadingShow less