The Round Tower, plate 3 from the second edition of Carceri d'invenzione (Imaginary Prisons)
<p>In addition to dramatic views of Roman architecture, Giovanni Battista Piranesi created a series of prison interiors that were entirely invented. These vast, entangled passageways and cavernous chambers were first printed around 1750. Ten years later, Piranesi reworked the plates, heightening their ominous<br>state in an implied critique of social injustice.</p>
Catalogue
- Year
- 1761
- Dimensions
- Image: 54.2 × 41 cm (21 3/8 × 16 3/16 in.); Plate: 54.9 × 41.6 cm (21 5/8 × 16 7/16 in.); Sheet: 56.1 × 42.5 cm (22 1/8 × 16 3/4 in.)
- Collection
- Art Institute of Chicago
Artist
Painting
Giovanni Battista Piranesi was an Italian classical archaeologist, architect, and artist, famous for his etchings of Rome and of fictitious and atmospheric "prisons". He was the father of Francesco Piranesi, Laura Piranesi and Pietro Piranesi.
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More by Giovanni Battista Piranesi
The Arch with a Shell Ornament
1800 · etching, engraving, sulphur tint or open bite, drypoint
Prisoners on a Projecting Platform
1800 · etching, engraving, sulphur tint or open bite, burnishing
The Gothic Arch
1800 · etching, engraving, sulphur tint or open bite, burnishing
The Smoking Fire
1800 · etching, engraving, sulphur tint or open bite, burnishing
The Pier with a Lamp
1780 · etching, engraving, sulphur tint or open bite, burnishing [date should be read as "published 1780s"]
The Drawbridge
1780 · etching, engraving, scratching [date should be read as "published 1780s"]
Record
Verified by WattsOS- Year
- 1761
- Dimensions
- Image: 54.2 × 41 cm (21 3/8 × 16 3/16 in.); Plate: 54.9 × 41.6 cm (21 5/8 × 16 7/16 in.); Sheet: 56.1 × 42.5 cm (22 1/8 × 16 3/4 in.)
- Watts ID
- WW-1761-031071
Source
- Collection
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Source
- aic
- Reference
- View at source
- Status
- verified