The Last Underground Prison: He Fell Dead into His Brother's Arms

1797

Giovanni De Pian, after Francesco Galimberti

Associated Names
Giovanni De Pian

Artist, Italian, 1764 - 1800

Francesco Galimberti

Artist After, Italian, 1755 - 1803

The image shows two men in an underground setting. They are standing close together, with one slightly leaning on the other. The lighting is dim, with a torch providing light. Both men have long curly hair and intense facial expressions. They are dressed in period clothing typical of the late 18th or early 19th century. The background includes a stone cell with a bed, a wooden bucket, and a document on the floor. There is some faint fresco or writing on the wall to the left.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    etching and aquatint on laid paper

  • Credit Line

    Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund

  • Dimensions

    plate: 24 × 30.6 cm (9 7/16 × 12 1/16 in.)
    sheet: 28.3 × 34.9 cm (11 1/8 × 13 3/4 in.)

  • Accession Number

    2019.137.6

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

(La Portantina di Mattia Jona, Milan); purchased 2019 by NGA.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

2021

  • Aquatint: From Its Origins to Goya, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 2021 - 2022.

Inscriptions

in plate, below image, at left: Galliberti del.; in plate, below image, at right: de Pian inc; in plate, below image, at center: Ultima Carcere Sotterracquea... / e cadde morto frà le bracia di suo Fratello senza poter terminare la letale sentenza / No. 6 Piedi 3 Veneti estratto dall'equatore pag. 30; in image, upper left: VIVA LORENZO OREFICE DI PADUA / VIVA ANDREA TARDIVELLO / HODIE MIHI CRAS TI; by later hand, lower right in graphite: 582; by later hand, upper left verso in pen and brown ink: 6; by later hand, upper right verso in graphite: Pian (De) Gio; c34

Watermarks

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