Thought I’d research some firework paintings for 4th of July (I’m a day late I know), but they were surprisingly difficult to find. I absolute adore paintings like this that show a shared cultural phenomenon between us a people that lived centuries ago.

(view the full sized image here)

I gave identifying info about this work to Perplexity with the instructions to research it and tell me all the interesting things it could about the work. Here’s what we got:

The Dazzling Drama of the Girandola: A Tale of Fire, Art, and International Collaboration

In a spectacular burst of color and light that once illuminated the Roman night sky, the magnificent fireworks display known as the Girandola brought together two remarkable artists from different nations, united by their passion for capturing beauty in print. The etching known as "The Girandola at the Castel Sant'Angelo," designed by French artist Louis Jean Desprez and hand-colored with exquisite care, then etched by Francesco Piranesi (son of the legendary Giovanni Battista), tells a story far more captivating than any simple fireworks show.

A Night of Wonder Captured in Copper and Color

Picture this: crowds of elegant spectators gather along the banks of the Tiber River, their carriages lined up like theater boxes, all eyes turned toward the imposing silhouette of Castel Sant'Angelo. Above them, the night sky explodes in a symphony of rockets and sparks, while the ancient fortress—once the tomb of Emperor Hadrian—becomes a stage for one of Europe's most spectacular pyrotechnic displays. This was the Girandola, a tradition dating back to 1481, originally designed according to legend by none other than Michelangelo Buonarroti himself, and later perfected by the baroque master Gian Lorenzo Bernini.

The scene unfolds like a theatrical production: in the foreground, distinguished tourists watch from their ornate carriages and a specially erected viewing pavilion, while animated crowds populate the dramatically foreshortened Ponte Sant'Angelo. The explosion of rockets dominates the upper half of the composition, their light dancing off the Tiber's dark waters and casting an otherworldly glow over the assembled masses.

The French Visionary Behind the Design

Louis Jean Desprez (1743-1804), the mastermind behind this remarkable print's design, was no ordinary artist. Born in the Burgundy town of Auxerre, this multitalented Frenchman embodied the peripatetic spirit of 18th-century artistic exchange. After winning the prestigious Grand Prix of the Académie royale d'architecture in 1776, Desprez journeyed to Rome the following year, where he would spend seven transformative years among the ruins and Renaissance palaces that fired his imagination.

Desprez was a man of many talents—architect, painter, engraver, and theatrical designer—whose monumental neoclassical style was deeply influenced by his studies of Greek and Roman ruins in southern Italy and Sicily. But it was his association with the Piranesi workshop in Rome that would lead to some of his most celebrated collaborative works. The French painter Joseph Marie Vien called him "a young man full of fire and genius," a description that seems perfectly suited to an artist who would capture the explosive beauty of the Girandola.

The Italian Master of the Copper Plate

Francesco Piranesi (1758-1810), who translated Desprez's vision into the intricate lines of the etching, represented the continuation of one of printmaking's greatest dynasties. As the eldest son of the legendary Giovanni Battista Piranesi, Francesco inherited not only his father's workshop and printing plates but also his extraordinary skill with the etching needle.

The younger Piranesi had been trained by his father alongside his sister Laura, also a noted engraver, and by 1775 was already assisting with and creating his own works of art. When Giovanni Battista died in 1778, Francesco took over the family business, becoming responsible for printing most of the later editions of his father's famous prints. His collaboration with Desprez beginning around 1781 represented a new chapter in the Piranesi workshop's history, one that embraced international artistic exchange and innovative techniques.

A Revolutionary Collaboration in Color

What made this particular print extraordinary was not just its subject matter, but its groundbreaking technique. In July 1781, Desprez and Francesco Piranesi published a "Prospectus" announcing an ambitious series of Italian views created as "dessins coloriés" (colored drawings). These weren't ordinary prints, but elaborate etchings by Piranesi after designs by Desprez, which were then meticulously hand-colored with watercolors and gouache in an extraordinarily sophisticated manner.

The collaboration represented a fascinating fusion of French design sensibility with Italian printmaking mastery. While Desprez brought his theatrical imagination and architectural knowledge to bear on the composition, Francesco Piranesi contributed the technical expertise inherited from one of Europe's greatest etching workshops. The pamphlet promised forty-eight sheets showing views from the Kingdom of Naples and Sicily as well as from Rome, though ultimately only ten views of this ambitious project were ever realized.

The Spectacle They Captured

The Girandola itself was far more than mere entertainment—it was a cultural phenomenon that had captivated Europe for three centuries. Held annually on Easter Monday and the feast of Saints Peter and Paul (June 29), as well as for papal coronations, this pyrotechnic extravaganza drew visitors from across the continent.

Legend attributed the original design to Michelangelo, who envisioned the use of some five thousand rockets, taking pains to shift spectators' attention from the mere sound of explosions to the dazzling colors of the fires. Through intricate alchemical knowledge of materials, he supposedly created "a spectacle worthy of his best works of art". Bernini later perfected the display, drawing inspiration from the eruptions of Mount Stromboli to make it even more spectacular.

The tradition was so renowned that people would "cross the whole of Europe on horseback" just to witness the show that illuminated Rome's night sky. Contemporary accounts describe how "for twenty minutes or half an hour, the whole castle was one incessant sheet of fire, and labyrinth of blazing wheels of every colour, size, and speed: while rockets streamed into the sky, not by ones or twos, or scores, but hundreds at a time".

The Castle's Storied Past

Castel Sant'Angelo itself provided a dramatically appropriate backdrop for this spectacle of light and fire. Originally built between 134-139 AD as the Mausoleum of Hadrian, the massive cylindrical structure had served as the final resting place for Roman emperors until Caracalla. By the late 3rd century, it had been fortified and incorporated into Rome's defensive walls.

The castle's transformation from imperial tomb to papal fortress was completed when it acquired its current name following a legendary vision. In 590 AD, during a devastating plague, Pope Gregory the Great reportedly saw the Archangel Michael sheathing his sword atop the fortress, symbolizing the end of the pestilence. This miraculous event led to the building being renamed "Castel Sant'Angelo"—the Castle of the Holy Angel.

The Art of Printmaking in the Age of the Grand Tour

The creation of this remarkable print occurred during the golden age of the Grand Tour, when wealthy Europeans, particularly young Englishmen, traveled to Italy as part of their education and cultural refinement. Rome was the essential destination, with its wealth of classical art and architecture representing the pinnacle of Western civilization to 18th-century cultural elites.

This phenomenon created a thriving market for prints of Rome's great vedute (views), inspiring generations of gifted artists skilled at capturing the sights and spectacles of the Eternal City. Giuseppe Vasi (1710-1782), master of Giovanni Battista Piranesi, had established the template for these tourist prints with his comprehensive series "Magnificenze di Roma antica e moderna" published between 1747 and 1761.

The technique of hand-coloring prints was still relatively novel in the late 18th century. Unlike relief prints, intaglio prints (etchings and engravings) had traditionally been printed only in black ink on white paper, finding their expression in the quality of line and silvery tones. The addition of color was considered innovative, and when done well, could double the price of a print.

Materials and Methods of a Master Collaboration

The Desprez-Piranesi collaboration employed the most sophisticated printmaking techniques of their era. Francesco Piranesi would first create detailed etchings based on Desprez's designs, using the copper plate etching methods perfected in his father's workshop. The etching process involved drawing lines into a waxed copper plate, which was then bitten with acid and passed through a press to create multiple impressions.

Desprez then applied his hand-coloring with watercolors and gouache—pigments suspended in water and gum arabic that allowed for subtle gradations of tone and brilliant color effects. This painstaking process required considerable skill, as the artist had to work within the linear structure of the etching while creating the illusion of painted surfaces.

The Cultural Exchange of the Eighteenth Century

This collaboration between Desprez and Francesco Piranesi exemplified the remarkable cultural exchange that characterized 18th-century artistic life. Rome served as a crucial meeting point where artists from across Europe encountered ancient monuments, Renaissance masterpieces, and each other. The city's role as capital of the Papal States and destination of the Grand Tour created a unique cosmopolitan atmosphere where French architects, Italian printmakers, English collectors, and German scholars could interact and collaborate.

The neoclassical movement that dominated this period drew its inspiration from this Italian experience, nourished by artistic traditions of ancient Rome and by the excavations at Herculaneum (begun 1738), Paestum, and Pompeii. Artists found in classical antiquity not just subjects for their work, but principles of order, clarity, and reason that could be adapted to contemporary needs.

A Legacy in Lines and Light

The Girandola print created by Desprez and Francesco Piranesi represents far more than a mere souvenir or documentary record. It captures a moment when international artistic collaboration could produce works of extraordinary beauty and technical innovation. The French designer's theatrical imagination, combined with the Italian etcher's inherited mastery and the hand-colorist's delicate touch, created a print that functioned simultaneously as artwork, historical document, and cultural artifact.

Today, this remarkable collaboration stands as testament to an age when the barriers between nations seemed less important than the shared pursuit of beauty, when a fireworks display could inspire great art, and when the marriage of different talents and techniques could produce something greater than the sum of its parts.

The Artists' Later Lives

Louis Jean Desprez would go on to achieve his greatest fame not in France or Italy, but in Sweden, where King Gustav III invited him to Stockholm in 1784 to serve as theatre designer. There he revolutionized theatrical set design with his spectacular creations, the artistic partnership between Gustav III and Desprez becoming "one of the most fruitful collaborations between a commissioner and an artist in history". The king reportedly declared that "There are only two people in Sweden with imagination: Desprez and myself".

Francesco Piranesi, meanwhile, continued his father's work while establishing his own reputation as a skilled printmaker. During the French Revolution, he spent considerable time in France, and his later career included the ambitious project of publishing the first complete Paris edition of his father's works between 1800 and 1807. This monumental undertaking comprised over one thousand etched and engraved works, arguably the greatest body of prints created in connection with the Grand Tour.

The Girandola at Castel Sant'Angelo continues to this day, still drawing crowds to witness the spectacular fireworks display that has illuminated Roman skies for over five centuries. But the artistic collaboration that captured its magic in copper and color remains unique—a brilliant fusion of French imagination and Italian craftsmanship that transformed a moment of ephemeral beauty into lasting art.

And that's it!

If you have any details you think Perplexity left out, reply to this email and I'll adjust my prompt to nudge it to include it next time.

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Thanks for reading!

-JP

Current prompt: I want you to create a newsletter post describing the fun and exciting stories around a painting. It should be a newsletter read for leisure and should be an enjoyable read (not just a list of facts) here's what you’re gonna do: Find the name of the following painting in its original language and any alternative names it goes by. Then Research the painting and give me blurb telling me all you can about the artist, the historical context/events it was created in, the style, the materials used, the composition and visual elements, the story/underlying message, what inspired the work/what it meant to the author, and whatever other info you find that helps give a complete understanding of the work. A description of what is depicted (mention subjects) should be the first thing, while the “biography” of the artist should be last. if the work has a lot of meaning behind it, then that is what the meat of the newsletter should be. Besides that you are free to present the information in a concise and captivating way, with the most interesting and novel stuff closest to the top. Order the presentation of information for which pieces have the most compelling and interesting story to tell. At least some of the description should be formatted like a story. [for example: a couple sits on a bench watching the sunset while a man next to them…]. ONLY include information that is for THIS SPECIFIC PAINTING. you will find info on paintings similar to this one but NOT this one. OMMIT INFO ABOUT SUCH PIECES. remember, the goal is to make the most compelling, intriguing, and fun to read newsletter as possible, so keep that above all else.