SCIOGRAPHIA QUATUOR TEMPLORUM VETERUM, FRANCESCO PIRANESI, TITLE PAGE ETCHING,CIRCA 1780 Large-format double-page copperplate serves as the elaborate frontispiece to the architectural study “Sciographia Quatuor Templorum Veterum” ("Sectional Views of Four Ancient Temples"), a work devoted to the sectional and profile studies of Roman antique temples. The composition presents a monumental dedicatory inscription to Pope Pius VI ("Pio VI Pont. Max."), flanked by two colossal herm figures with classical drapery and crowned with acanthus-carved capitals, and centered on a roundel portrait bust of the Pope in profile. The lower register is densely populated with an antiquarian still life of sarcophagi, inscribed tablets, medallions, sculpted fragments, and a sphinx, reinforcing the antiquarian and scholarly ambitions of the publication, which was dedicated by the artist "A Francisco Piranesio Romano." Framed. Not examined out of frame. Plate: Measures approximately 20 by 28 inches (excludes picture frame); frame: 29.25 x 37.25 inches $1,000-1,200
