Camera sepolcrale

1742

Giovanni Battista Piranesi

Associated Names
Giovanni Battista Piranesi

Artist, Venetian, 1720 - 1778

The image portrays an architectural ruin from a slightly elevated vantage point filled with classical architecture and overgrown foliage. The horizon is obscured by towering walls and arches. The etching technique shows precise line work for textures of stone and vegetation with cross-hatching for shadows. The monochrome palette emphasizes the depth of the scene. Closest are broken statues and vegetation. Figures are seen amidst the ruins, with light filtering through the arches in the distance.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    etching

  • Credit Line

    Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund

  • Dimensions

    sheet: 46.5 × 32.3 cm (18 5/16 × 12 11/16 in.)
    plate: 40 × 27.3 cm (15 3/4 × 10 3/4 in.)

  • Accession Number

    2013.11.2

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Robison 1986, no. 20, State ii/iv

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

(C. G. Boerner, New York); purchased 2012 by NGA.

Associated Names

Bibliography

1986

  • Robison, Andrew. Piranesi: the Early Architectural Fantasies. A Catalogue Raisonné of the Etchings. Washington, D.C., 1986: 20.

Inscriptions

lower right in plate: Prianesi inve it fi; by later hand, lower right, in graphite: Robison 20 / STATe 11/5

Wikidata ID

Q76561881

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