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Interior view of St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican, from "Vedute di Roma" (Roman Views)

Giovanni Battista Piranesi · ca. 1748 · The Met, New York

Public domain · CC0 · $0.003,778 × 2,603 px · 9.8 MP
Prints gallery-sharp up to12.6 × 8.7 inat 300 dpi, uncropped · poster-sharp to 25.2 × 17.4 in at 150 dpi

The download is the Met's own open-access file, served by the Met. Big file — give it a minute.

Free · $0.00Interior view of St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican, from "Vedute di Roma" (Roman Views) by Giovanni Battista Piranesi, ca. 1748
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Standard frame sizes, turned to match the artwork. "Crops" is how much of the picture you lose filling that frame edge to edge — or keep it all and let a mat take up the difference.

FrameEffective dpiVerdictCrops
10 × 8 in325Gallery sharp14%
14 × 11 in236Sharp up close12%
16 × 12 in216Sharp up close8%
20 × 16 in162Poster sharp14%
24 × 18 in144Fine across a room8%
36 × 24 in104Fine across a room3%
40 × 30 in86Too soft8%
Will it fit over your couch? Put this one on your wall, to scale — crop or mat, frame size, hang height and the order.

The ticket

Interior view of St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican, from "Vedute di Roma" (Roman Views) is a print by Giovanni Battista Piranesi (Italian, Mogliano Veneto 1720–1778 Rome), dated ca. 1748. Etching; third state of six (Hind). Size on the museum record: Sheet: 20 11/16 x 28 9/16 in. (52.5 x 72.5 cm) Plate: 16 1/8 x 23 11/16 in. (41 x 60.2 cm). The Metropolitan Museum of Art holds it in its Drawings and Prints collection — Gift of Mrs. Otto F. Langmann, 1972.

Interior view of St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican, from "Vedute di Roma" (Roman Views) is an etching; third state of six (hind) by Giovanni Battista Piranesi, part of The Met's open-access collection. The museum dates it ca. 1748 (accession 1972.620.1, Drawings and Prints). The subject is a view, and the eye travels from the foreground to the distance; give it wall space so that route stays readable. The Met's scan measures 3,778 × 2,603 pixels, which prints about 12.6 × 8.7 in at 300 dpi and 25.2 × 17.4 in at a still-comfortable 150 dpi. Its wide proportions sit naturally over a sofa, console or bed, and the crop figures in the set builder show what a standard frame would trim. Its muted earth tones are forgiving: natural wood softens the palette, walnut deepens it and black frames it like a gallery. Line work lives on contrast. Print it on smooth bright paper and give it a wider frame or mat so the fine marks are not swallowed. Add a small picture light and keep the centre of the piece around 57 inches from the floor; those two choices make a reproduction look deliberate.

The Met released its scan under CC0, which means no permission, no fee and no credit line required. That file is 3,778 × 2,603 pixels — 9.8 megapixels — good for a gallery-sharp print up to 12.6 × 8.7 in. The print itself measures about 28.5 × 20.7 in, so a true life-size print runs below 300 dpi — still sharp at normal viewing distance.Line work lives or dies on contrast. Print it on a smooth, bright paper and give it a wide mat: small graphic work drowns in a thin frame and a big empty border makes it look like it came out of a print room drawer.

On the receipt

Artist
Giovanni Battista Piranesi
Date
ca. 1748
Medium
Etching; third state of six (Hind)
Size
Sheet: 20 11/16 x 28 9/16 in. (52.5 x 72.5 cm) Plate: 16 1/8 x 23 11/16 in. (41 x 60.2 cm)
Museum
The Met · Drawings and Prints
Accession
1972.620.1
License
Public domain · CC0 1.0
Source
Museum record ↗