alb3678468

GIOVANNI BATTISTA PIRANESI, ANGELO ROTILI. Means by which the large blocks of travertine and marble were lifted during the construction of the large Tomb of Caecilia Metella, from Le Antichità Romane (Roman Antiquities), tome 3, tavola 53

Means by which the large blocks of travertine and marble were lifted during the construction of the large Tomb of Caecilia Metella, from Le Antichità Romane (Roman Antiquities), tome 3, tavola 53. Artist: Giovanni Battista Piranesi (Italian, Mogliano Veneto 1720-1778 Rome); Angelo Rotili. Dimensions: Sheet: 21 1/4 x 30 5/16 in. (54 x 77 cm)
Plate: 18 1/8 x 20 7/8 in. (46 x 53 cm). Series/Portfolio: Le Antichità Romane, tome 3. Date: published 1756-57.
While Piranesi was at work on the Antichità Romane, the result of years of research into the highly developed engineering skills of the Romans, the first threats to Roman preeminence were heard. In the early 1750s, certain French and British scholars and architects had begun to assert that the Romans were mere imitators of the Greeks, under whom all the arts had attained perfection. A desire to defend the Romans from this charge may lie behind the exaggeration that appears in some of the plates of this publication--here Piranesi makes the mausoleum appear much larger than it actually is and exaggerates the difficulty of its construction. This page provides a good example of Piranesi's novel illustrative techniques: he represents three supplemental views on scrolls of paper hung behind the primary scene, while playfully undermining the illusion he has created by making the hook on the left scroll overlap the edge of the sheet.

Share
Pinterest
Twitter
Facebook
Copy link
Email

Add to another lightbox

Do you already have an account? Sign in

You do not have an account? Register

Buy this image. Select the use:

Author:

GIOVANNI BATTISTA PIRANESI (1720-1778) • ANGELO ROTILI

Title:

Means by which the large blocks of travertine and marble were lifted during the construction of the large Tomb of Caecilia Metella, from Le Antichità Romane (Roman Antiquities), tome 3, tavola 53

Caption:

Means by which the large blocks of travertine and marble were lifted during the construction of the large Tomb of Caecilia Metella, from Le Antichità Romane (Roman Antiquities), tome 3, tavola 53. Artist: Giovanni Battista Piranesi (Italian, Mogliano Veneto 1720-1778 Rome); Angelo Rotili. Dimensions: Sheet: 21 1/4 x 30 5/16 in. (54 x 77 cm) Plate: 18 1/8 x 20 7/8 in. (46 x 53 cm). Series/Portfolio: Le Antichità Romane, tome 3. Date: published 1756-57. While Piranesi was at work on the Antichità Romane, the result of years of research into the highly developed engineering skills of the Romans, the first threats to Roman preeminence were heard. In the early 1750s, certain French and British scholars and architects had begun to assert that the Romans were mere imitators of the Greeks, under whom all the arts had attained perfection. A desire to defend the Romans from this charge may lie behind the exaggeration that appears in some of the plates of this publication--here Piranesi makes the mausoleum appear much larger than it actually is and exaggerates the difficulty of its construction. This page provides a good example of Piranesi's novel illustrative techniques: he represents three supplemental views on scrolls of paper hung behind the primary scene, while playfully undermining the illusion he has created by making the hook on the left scroll overlap the edge of the sheet.

Technique/material:

ETCHING

Museum:

Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA

Credit:

Album

Releases:

? Model Release: No - ? Property Release: No
Rights questions?

Image size:

4050 x 3576 px | 41.4 MB

Print size:

34.3 x 30.3 cm | 13.5 x 11.9 in (300 dpi)

Keywords:

ALBUMS • ANGELO ROTILI • BOOKS • DRAWINGS AND PRINTS • ETCHING • EUROPE • GIOVANNI BATTISTA PIRANESI • ITALY • METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART, NEW YORK, USA • PRINTS