Veduta Della Basilica Di S. Maria Maggiore Con Le Due Fabbriche Laterali... 1749

Veduta della Basilica di S.ma Maria Maggiore con le due Fabbriche laterali di detta Basilica (S. Maria Maggiore with the Column from the Basilica of Constantine in the Foreground) is a superb lifetime impression. This is the ninth plate from the series ''Views of Rome'' by Giovanni Battista Piranesi. Etching on thick laid paper with watermark (Hind 3), a fleur-de-lys within a double circle, Hind's state III of VI, a lifetime impression. Signed on plate ''Piranesi del. Scol.'' on the lower-right margin, as issued. Inscription on the lower right margin: ''Presso l'autore a Strad.e Felice nel Palazzo Tomati vicino alla Trinità de' Monti. A paoli due e mezzo'' (as indicated by Hind in the 3rd state). Title on the lower margin at the center. This beautiful old master's artwork representing a cinematographic cut shot with the baroque masterpiece of the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore. Wonderful etching with fresh and beautiful impression, wide margins. In excellent condition, with customary vertical folds, some light foxing on the margins, and small tears on left margin. These minor defects do not affect the image. The plate appears freshly inked with deep contrasts and velvety, vibrant blacks. As regards the watermark and the paper, ''the custom of framing marks within a circle appears to have been chiefly if not exclusively Italian, so that all the fleur-de-lys (...) almost certainly indicate Italian papers'', as Hind specified in his essay ''Critical study''. Views of Rome The series ''Views of Rome'' were executed over the course of Piranesi's career, from the second half of the 1740s until his death, were printed and sold as individual sheets or in collections that gradually increased as his output progressed, and occasionally included other series of prints as well. There were a number of posthumous editions, bearing the same title, consisting of 135 prints engraved in 1778 plus 2 title pages. The additions consisted of Pianta di Roma e del Campo Marzio and 2 plates by Francesco. This is from an earlier, lifetime edition. Reference: L. Ficacci, ''Piranesi: the Complete Etchings'', Taschen, 2000, image n. 878, pp. 688; Hind n.9, page 40; Focillon n. 791. This artwork is shipped from Italy. Under existing legislation, any artwork in Italy created over 70 years ago by an artist who has died requires a licence for export regardless of the work’s market price. The shipping may require additional handling days to require the licence according to the final destination of the artwork.