Grottesco with the Tomb of Nero 1747

"Grottesco with the Tomb of Nero" is a drawing created in 1747 by Giovanni Battista Piranesi, a prominent Italian architect and artist known for his dramatic and detailed etchings of ancient Roman ruins. This pen-and-ink drawing, featuring an archway with intricate ornamentation and a looming tree, exemplifies Piranesi's signature style. He often depicted elements of the grotesque, a style that embraced the fantastic and the macabre, with a focus on ruins and imagined ancient worlds. This drawing serves as a study for his later etched plates, showcasing his meticulous attention to detail and masterful command of perspective.