Title page of Piranesi's 'Letters of Justification' (etching)

Lettere di giustificazione scritte a Milord Charlemont e à di lui agenti di Roma ... intorno la dedica della sua opera delle Antichitá Rom[ane] fatta allo stesso signor ed ultimamente soppressa, 1757 Title page of Giovanni Battista Piranesi's Lettere di Guistificazione scritta a Milord Charlemont of 1758 depicted as an engraved stone from ancient Rome. Piranesi published this quarto volume because he was angry at Irish aristocrat James Caulfield, Earl of Charlemont for failing to provide funds to subsidize his ambitious production of the Antichità romane. In this book, Piranesi justifies his decision to remove Charlemont's name from the dedication page by printing letters and a commentary about the affair.