Dimensions: 38 x 24 cm (plate imprint)
full series title: Prima Parte di Architettura e Prospettive inventate ed incise da Giambattista Piranesi Architteto Veneziano fra gli Arcadi Salcindio Tiseio; described on the plate: 'Gio Batta Piranesi Architetto invento, ed incise in Roma', in the lower right corner the number in the series '5'; Italian inscription below the image: 'Remains of ancient buildings, among which stands the tomb urn of Marcus Agrippa, made entirely of porphyry, serving today as the Tomb of Clement XII. Also visible is a fragment of a spire with Egyptian insignia and, in the distance, the vestibule of a ruined ancient temple'
State of preservation
unframed work
Literature
Focillon 5
Hind 1922, pp. 75, 78 et seq.
Wilton-Ely 18
Biography
Italian graphic designer and architect. He studied in Venice, from where he traveled to Naples, Herculaneum and Pompeii for study. From 1745 he was active in Rome. His architectural works include the reconstruction of the church of S. Maria del Priorato (1765) and the villa of the Order of the Cavaliers of Malta in Rome. Piranesi's most important field of activity was his studies of architecture and ancient art (especially of Rome), supported by his numerous travels, architectural research, measurements and drawings, which resulted in a very large number (more than 2,000) of graphic works (etchings, copper engravings), depicting views of ancient buildings, archaeological finds and architectural fantasies. In his engravings, Piranesi presented an evocative vision of ancient Roman architecture, in which, while maintaining fidelity to detail, he created synthetic views of ancient buildings, exaggerating them in striking perspective shots and dramatizing them through the use of strong chiaroscuro contrasts. Piranesi's engravings gained great popularity, influencing the spread of antiquity and the formation of classicism.
