Description

Giovanni Battista Piranesi
Plate III – Frammenti di Marmo della Pianta di Roma antica, scavati, saranno due secoli, nelle Rovine del Tempio di Romolo, et ora esistenti nel Museo di Campodoglio
From: Le Antichit Romane
Etching
Dimensions: 21″ x 30.25″

Giovanni Battista Piranesi was an archaeologist, an architect and an engraver. With his sovereign mastery of graphic techniques and virtually superhuman powers of invention, he redefined the possibilities of the print medium as only Durer and Rembrandt had done before him. Generations after him would continue to imagine Ancient Rome as it is portrayed in his magnificentVedute di Roma(Views of Rome) andLe Antichit Romane, from which this selection of images originates. Born in Venice, the son of a stone mason, he moved to Rome in 1745 to establish his own printing workshop to produce his architectural drawings. These particular prints from theVedute di Romaseries andLe Antichit Romaneseries are exemplars of Piranesi’s clean, crisp style and dramatic use of light and dark. Even when depicting the crumbling structures of antiquity, Piranesi imbued his etchings with a sense of vitality and timelessness, demonstrating why Piranesi has remained one of the most enduring, creative etchers and artists of all time. These views are evocative examples of Piranesi’s finest work.