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Catalogo delle Opere

Giovanni Battista Piranesi

1749

ink

From the collection of National Gallery of Art

Baroque 18th Century catalogue

Dominant colour

Catalogo delle Opere is a 1749 ink by Giovanni Battista Piranesi, a Baroque work, depicting catalogue, held at National Gallery of Art.

Who painted this?: Giovanni Battista Piranesi
When & what style?: 1749 · Baroque
Where can I see it?: National Gallery of Art

About this work

This etching shows a cluttered workshop with shelves of tools and prints. Light cuts through the room, highlighting half-finished etchings and stacks of paper. The air feels thick with the smell of ink and acid. Piranesi didn’t just sell prints here—he made them. His workshop was also his factory, cranking out views of Rome to feed Europe’s hunger for souvenirs. Look close and you’ll spot tiny figures dwarfed by towering prints. Try his prints next to Canaletto’s.