Lost 18th-century book of master printmaker Piranesi is revealed

‘Research felt like a murder mystery. We kept finding new clues, but they didn’t come together until the end’

EVIDENCE of a lost book created by Giovanni Battista Piranesi, one of the greatest printmakers of the 18th century, has been discovered through previously unpublished drawings that were created on the back of fragments of printed texts.

Scholars have been taken aback by the discovery after reconstructing what they describe as the Italian master’s “trash” – irregular scraps cut from printers’ proofs bearing quotations from ancient writings, including the Roman poet Juvenal.

Paper was by far the most expensive component of an early modern book, and Piranesi did not waste this resource. On bits and pieces of recycled paper he created two exquisite drawings depicting printers hard at work, perhaps feverishly sketched in a workshop. The drawings, in pen and brown ink, appear on the back of printed texts relating to ancient tombs in Rome, a subject that fascinated Piranesi in the early 1750s. He even became directly involved with excavations of ancient sites.

Errors in the printed text – such as “qui” instead of “quid” (the Latin words for who and why) – indicate that this was from a printer’s proof rather than a finished copy ready to be bound.

The discovery was made by Carolyn Yerkes, associate professor of early modern architecture at Princeton University, and Heather Hyde Minor, professor of art history at the University of Notre Dame, Indiana. They will include it in their book, titled Piranesi Unbound, to be published by Princeton University Press on Sept 1. Prof Hyde Minor told The Telegraph: “The research felt like a murder mystery. We kept finding new clues, but they didn’t come together until the end, when we could conjure up this lost book. Each individual piece of evidence, each drawing that we discovered, fit like another piece in the puzzle.”

Prof Yerkes added: “We had to consult experts from forensic-type specialists to print experts to be able to interpret what we were seeing. It’s incredibly exciting as art historians working together to reach a conclusion that answers so many questions about Piranesi.” They concluded that what is preserved is the trace of a book that was never offered for sale, at least not in the form in which it exists in these drawings.

Piranesi, who was also an architect, is revered for his captivating representations of antiquity. The British Museum is staging an exhibition of his drawings to celebrate the 300th anniversary of his birth in 1720, and Princeton is planning a major show next year.