Dimensions: 40.5 x 61.8 cm (clear passe-partout)
below described: '1. Ponte levatojo, che dal vestibolo superiore da l'ingresso al Secondo Appartamento del Palazzo. 2. Inscrizione dell'Arco di Claudio ritrovata fra le di lui rovine alla Piazza di Sciarra, e dinotante le Vittorie riportate da questo Imperadore sopra i Britanni. 3. Uno de' Portoni del Vestibolo, corrispondente alla Piazza Barberini. 4. chiesa de'Cappucini. 5. Labro antico di granito, che serve alla fontana del Vestibolo inferiore. 6. Obelisco Egizziaco, ivi transferito dal Circo d'Elagabalo, o come altri vogliono d'Aureliano, che rimaneva fuori dell'odierna Porta Magge.'
State of preservation
Bound work
Literature
Hind 25.ii/v
Wilton-Ely 188
Focillon 740, C726
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 Knights of Malta in Rome. Piranesi's most important field of activity was his studies of architecture and ancient art (especially of Rome), supported by 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.
