Last few days of Piranesi exhibition in London before it moves to Berlin

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Master Drawings Uncovered: Piranesi's Paestum'is a fascinating exhibition currently in its last week at the Soane Museum, London, before moving on to Berlin in June. It is due in New York next year.

‘Master Drawings Uncovered: Piranesi’s Paestum’ explores how the Paestum drawings ‘revolutionised architects’ and artists’ understanding of early Greek Classical architecture’. It also examines the possibility that Piranesi’s prime reason for interest in the early Greek temples at Paestum was to prove that Roman architecture was not inferior to Greek. The debate was topical, particularly through the organized excavations of Herculaneum from 1738; and Pompeii from 1748, both ancient Roman towns relatively close, c.50miles in distance to Paestum, which had been rediscovered in 1746 during the construction of a new road. Its Doric temples were dedicated to Poseidon, Hera and Athena....

Read the whole of Rosalind Ormiston's review of 'Master Drawings Uncovered: Piranesi's Paestum' in the current issue of Cassone