The title page bearing the inscription de la Villa Altoviti Paintings in Rome in ventees Michelange par, par Peintesa Giorgio Vasari, Thomas et par gravees Pegs. Faisant partie de la Piranesi Chalcographie in Paris, Elder 1807 

This is a title page, made in Paris in 1807, for a suite of prints by Giovanni Battista Piranesi, though engraved by Thomas Piroli. The inscription refers to paintings in the Villa Altoviti in Rome, designed by Michelangelo and painted by Giorgio Vasari. Piranesi’s prints were part of a larger project to document and disseminate knowledge of classical and Renaissance art and architecture, contributing to the Neoclassical movement which looked back to antiquity for inspiration. This title page exemplifies the complex institutional relationships that shape artistic production. Piranesi's "Calcographie," or printmaking workshop, operated as a commercial enterprise, catering to a growing market for art reproductions and souvenirs. The French inscription suggests its international appeal and distribution networks. Note that Piranesi died nearly 30 years before this title page was made, which reminds us that we should think of artistic production as a collaborative undertaking. To fully understand this print, we might consult archival records of Piranesi's workshop, period guidebooks to Rome, and studies of the art market in 18th and 19th-century Europe.