A Collection of Prints after the Sketches and Drawings of the late Celebrated Giovanni Battista Cipriani, Esqr R.A.
Medium
Bound volume with letterpress title page and content page, portrait of Giovanni Battista Cipriani (stipple by Richard Earlom after John Francis Rigaud), and 50 mixed intaglio prints in brown, red, and black (by Richard Earlom, Maria Catharina Prestel, Francesco Bartolozzi, Thomas Kirk, and Francis Legat after Giovanni Battista Cipriani)
Dimensions
book: 51.5 × 34.5 × 25 cm (20 1/4 × 13 9/16 × 9 13/16 in.)
Classification
Volume
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of William Robertson Coe
Accession Number
1956.4.17
Art Historical Context
In the late 18th century, London’s vibrant printmaking scene brought fine art to a wider audience, and *A Collection of Prints after the Sketches and Drawings of the late Celebrated Giovanni Battista Cipriani, Esqr R.A.* (1789) exemplifies this trend. Published by the renowned brothers John and Josiah Boydell, this lavish bound volume honors the Italian-born artist Giovanni Battista Cipriani (1727–1785), a Royal Academician celebrated for his elegant neoclassical designs inspired by antiquity. Cipriani, who settled in England and collaborated with figures like Robert Adam, left a legacy of gra...