VEDUTA DELLA PIAZZA DI MONTE CAVALLO; GIOVANNI BATTISTA PIRANESI, ETCHING,Circa 1750s - 1770s Etching depicts the Piazza di Monte Cavallo (now Piazza del Quirinale), presenting a sweeping view of the imposing Palazzo Pontificio (Quirinal Palace) with its long Baroque facade, flanking wing, and adjoining Palazzo della Consulta. The foreground is dominated by the colossal antique Dioscuri statues of Castor and Pollux with their rearing horses, attributed in the period to Praxiteles and Phidias, rising on tall pedestals before a lively square filled with elegant carriages, liveried footmen, soldiers, and fashionably dressed figures going about their day. A cartouche in the lower left, titled "Veduta della Piazza di Monte Cavallo," identifies the numbered points of interest, including the Palazzo Pontificio, the street leading to Porta Pia, the Palazzo della Consulta, the colossal statues, and the palaces of the Pontifical family. Rendered with Piranesi's characteristic mastery of perspective, dense architectural detail, and dramatic tonal contrast, this etching is part of his monumental “Vedute di Roma” series, produced between the late 1740s and the artist's death in 1778. Framed. Not examined out of frame. Plate: Measures approximately 18 11/16 x 27 15/16 in.; frame: 30 x 27.5 inches $800-1,200
