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Visit
Open today 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
Admission is always free

6th and Constitution Ave NW
Washington, DC 20565

Sculpture Garden Extended Hours

Open late until 8:00 p.m. on select nights
Through September 5
Exhibitions & Events
America’s 250th

Celebrating American art and artists
Art & Artists
Open Call

Artists Reimagining the Collection
Meet the 50 makers selected from more than 1,600 submissions

The Gothic Arch

published 1749/1750

Giovanni Battista Piranesi

Associated Names

Giovanni Battista Piranesi

Artist, Venetian, 1720 - 1778

The etching provides a wide and slightly elevated perspective of a complex architectural space resembling an elaborate dungeon or underground structure. The space is enclosed within massive stone structures and arches, with etched lines creating depth and scale through bold, dark strokes emphasizing the stonework's heaviness and intricacy. Lighter, finer lines add texture and detail. The color palette is monochromatic, with black ink highlighting shadows and details against the light etching paper. In the foreground, intersecting staircases with railings are depicted, while figures can be seen navigating through arches in the distance, contrasting with the towering pillars and beams dominating the scene.

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Artwork overview

Medium

etching, engraving, sulphur tint or open bite, and burnishing
Credit Line

W.G. Russell Allen, Ailsa Mellon Bruce, Lessing J. Rosenwald, and Pepita Milmore Funds
Dimensions

plate: 41.3 x 54.4 cm (16 1/4 x 21 7/16 in.)
sheet: 51.2 x 71.1 cm (20 3/16 x 28 in.)
Accession Number

1976.35.12
Catalogue Raisonné

Robison 1986, no. 40, State i/vi
Series Title

Carceri (First Edition, First Issue)

Artwork history & notes

Bibliography

1918

Focillon 1918, 37.

1922

Hind 1922, 14.

1986

Robison, Andrew. Piranesi Early Architectural Fantasies: A Catalogue Raisonne of the Etchings. Washington: National Gallery of Art; Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press, 1986.

1992

"American Psychologist (Journal of the American Psychological Association)," vol. 47, no. 12 (December 1992): reproduced on cover.

Watermarks

Fleur-de-lis (Robison 5)

Wikidata ID

Q65568944

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