1/10/2024 0 Comments Piranesi rome etchingFor interior views, see Pietro Santi Bartoli’s etchings of the interior on another page.) (Piranesi’s etchings depict the exterior of the monument. The trees (almost entirely erased from the Antichita) are back with a vengeance, digging their gnarled roots into the ancient structures. The leftmost edge of the Pyramid forms a strong diagonal between the ruins and trees of the bottom right portion and the wide open sky of the top left. The vantage is from roughly the same height as the Antichita, rising from the very bottom to the very top of the plate. He returned to the Vedute sometime before 1760 and radically recut the plate of the Pyramid of Cestius. 5 The Pyramid, now viewed from a low vantage point, rises above the viewer almost dizzyingly, grazing the top of the plate. 4 He flexes his engineering training (which he received from his uncle, an engineer for the Venetian waterworks) to produce something more like an archaeological illustration, with a sharp focus and higher level of detail than the Vedute. Piranesi was seeing the Pyramid as both artist and archaeologist when he returned to it again in 1756 for the Antichita Romane portfolio. Wilton-Ely calls this a "factual statement of exaggerated force." 3 The surface is cleared of vegetation in order for the edges and inscriptions to be more visible. 2 His depictions of light become more painterly and descriptive. 1 His Vedute di Roma (editions from 1751 until his death in 1778) plates were much larger than the Varie Vedute, allowing for greater detail and Piranesi's expression of the monumentality of Rome's public spaces. The top of the pyramid rises up and over the top edge of the plate in an illusionistic manner. Thus, the etching shows a different monument than what we see today - the towers, often called the “ass’s ears”, have since been removed in the 1880s.In the 1745 portfolio Varie Vedute, Piranesi begins to depart from the more traditional style of his master of the previous five years, printmaker Giuseppe Vasi. In the 17th century, Pope Urban VIII added bell towers as a Christian addition to the facade, compromising its original, Classical Greek-inspired portico. Instead, he shows evidence of the changes in the Pantheon’s use and significance over time. Instead of detailing the Pantheon’s impressive and iconic dome, Piranesi only begins to indicate it. The composition of the work opens up the piazza, providing a wide landscape framed by the buildings that surround the towering obelisk and fountain. Fish markets, horse-drawn carriages, and shoppers divert the attention from the grandiose monuments and reveal its casual interaction with Piranesi’s contemporary society. Here the Pantheon and the Obelisk are immersed within the context of everyday Rome, surrounded by the hustle and bustle of the lively piazza. Yet the value of this etching lies in its portrayal of the Pantheon as Piranesi saw it. In this particular work, Piranesi provides more of a historical and environmental context for the monuments depicted.ĭuring his lifetime, Piranesi created several different etchings of the Pantheon that focused more on the monument itself. This etching of the Pantheon, completed in 1751, interestingly does not place central emphasis on the Pantheon itself, but rather, more on its surroundings. Piranesi had begun a series around 1747, called Vedute di Roma (Views of Rome), in which he etched several plates showing historical monuments and notable landmarks in the city. This etching shows the Pantheon and Obelisk in the Piazza della Rotunda located in Rome, Italy. This print is Giovanni Battista Piranesi’s Veduta della Piazza della Rotunda. The etch shows the piazza and the Pantheon as seen in Piranesi's contemporary Rome, complete with the fountain and obelisk at the center of the square. Piranesi's 1751 Veduta della Piazza della Rotonda.
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