Giovanni Battista (also Giambattista) Piranesi (4 October 1720 - 9 November 1778) was an Italian artist famous for his etchings of Rome and of fictitious and atmospheric "prisons" (Carceri d'Invenzione). Piranesi may be: Giovanni Battista Piranesi (4 October 1729 - 9 November 1778) Francesco Piranesi (1756 or 1758 - 1810), his son Category: ... is the 277th day of the year (278th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... // Events January 6 - The Committee of Inquiry on the South Sea Bubble publishes its findings February 11 - Sweden and Prussia sign the (2nd Treaty of Stockholm) declaring peace. ... is the 313th day of the year (314th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1778 (MDCCLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday of the 11-day slower Julian calendar). ... The definition of an artist is wide-ranging and covers a broad spectrum of activities to do with creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. ... Christ Preaching, known as The Hundred Guilder print; etching c1648 by Rembrandt Etching is the process of using strong acid to cut into the unprotected parts of a metal surface to create a design in intaglio in the metal (the original process - in modern manufacturing other chemicals may be used... For other uses, see Rome (disambiguation). ...

Self-portrait.

Etching of the Pyramid of Cestius.

Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links Pyramid of Cestius, engraving by Piranesi for Vedute di Roma 18th century engraving File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links Pyramid of Cestius, engraving by Piranesi for Vedute di Roma 18th century engraving File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Pyramid of Cestius engraved by Giovanni Battista Piranesi The pyramid was included in the Aurelian Walls, and is close to Porta San Paolo (on the right). ...

Biography

Piranesi was born in Mogliano Veneto, near Treviso, then part of the Republic of Venice. His brother Andrea introduced him to Latin and the ancient civilization, and later he studied as an architect under his uncle, Matteo Lucchesi, who was Magistrato delle Acque, a Venetian engineer who specialized in excavation. Mogliano Veneto is a town and commune in the province of Treviso, in the Veneto, Italy. ... Treviso is a town in the Veneto region of Italy. ... Borders of the Republic of Venice in 1796 Capital Venice Language(s) Venetian, Latin, Italian Religion Roman Catholic Government Republic Doge  - 1789–97 Ludovico Manin History  - Established 697  - Treaty of Zara June 27, 1358  - Treaty of Leoben April 17, 1797 * Traditionally, the establishment of the Republic is dated to 697. ... Latin was the language originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. ...

From 1740 he was in Rome with Marco Foscarini, the Venetian envoy to the Vatican. He resided in the Palazzo Venezia and studied under Giuseppe Vasi, who introduced him to the art of etching and engraving. After his studies with Vasi, he collaborated with pupils of the French Academy in Rome to produce a series of vedute (views) of the city; his first work was Prima parte di Architettura e Prospettive (1743), followed in 1745 by Varie Vedute di Roma Antica e Moderna. Events May 31 - Friedrich II comes to power in Prussia upon the death of his father, Friedrich Wilhelm I. October 20 - Maria Theresia of Austria inherits the Habsburg hereditary dominions (Austria, Bohemia, Hungary and present-day Belgium). ... Palazzo Venezia The Palazzo Venezia is the name for a large palazzo (palace) in central Rome, just north of the Capitoline Hill. ... Giuseppe Vasi (born 27 August 1710 in Corleone, Sicily; died 16 April 1782 in Rome) was an Italian artist, best known for his vedute. ... Christ Preaching, known as The Hundred Guilder print; etching c1648 by Rembrandt Etching is the process of using strong acid to cut into the unprotected parts of a metal surface to create a design in intaglio in the metal (the original process - in modern manufacturing other chemicals may be used... Engraving is the practice of incising a design onto a hard, flat surface, by cutting grooves into it. ... The French Academy in Rome (French: Académie de France à Rome) is an Academy located in the Villa Medici, within the Villa Borghese, in Rome, Italy. ... // Events May 11 - War of Austrian Succession: Battle of Fontenoy - At Fontenoy, French forces defeat an Anglo-Dutch-Hanoverian army including the Black Watch June 4 – Frederick the Great destroys Austrian army at Hohenfriedberg August 19 - Beginning of the 45 Jacobite Rising at Glenfinnan September 12 - Francis I is elected...

From 1743 to 1747 he sojourned mainly in Venice where, according to some sources, he frequented Giovanni Battista Tiepolo. He then returned to Rome, where he opened a workshop in Via del Corso. In 1748-1774 he created a long series of vedute of the city which established his fame. In the meantime Piranesi devoted himself to the measurement of much of the ancient edifices: this led to the publication of Antichità Romane de' tempo della prima Repubblica e dei primi imperatori ("Roman Antiquities of the Time of the First Republic and the First Emperors". In 1761 he became a member of the Accademia di San Luca and opened a printing facility of his own. In 1762 the Campo Marzio dell'antica Roma collection of engravings was printed. Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, also known as Gianbattista or Giambattista Tiepolo (March 5, 1696 - March 27, 1770) was an Venetian painter and printmaker, considered among the last Grand Manner fresco painters from the Venetian republic. ... The northern end of the Via del Corso between the twin churches of Santa Maria in Montesanto (left)and Santa Maria dei Miracoli (right), seen from Piazza del Popolo. ... Year 1748 (MDCCXLVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Friday of the 11-day slower Julian calendar). ... Chesma Column in Tsarskoe Selo, commemorating the end of the Russo-Turkish War. ... 1761 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Accademia di San Luca, the painting academy of Rome, named for the Evangelist Saint Luke, reputed to have made a portrait of the Virgin Mary, who was patron of many painters guilds in the Low Countries and in Italy, was founded in 1593. ... 1762 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ...

The following year he was commissioned by Pope Clement XIII to restore the choir of San Giovanni in Laterano, but the work did not materialize. In 1764 Piranesi started his sole architectural works of importance, the restoration of the church of Santa Maria del Priorato in the Villa of the Knights of Malta in Rome, where he was buried after his death. Clement XIII, born Carlo della Torre Rezzonico (Venice, March 7, 1693 – Rome, February 2, 1769), was Pope from 1758 to 1769. ... Late Baroque façade of the Basilica, completed, after a competition for the design, by Alessandro Galilei in 1735 St. ... 1764 was a leap year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Baron Vassiliev, a 19th-century Knight Commander The Knights Hospitaller (also known as the Sovereign Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta, Knights of Malta, Knights of Rhodes, and Chevaliers of Malta) was an organization that began as an Amalfitan hospital founded in Jerusalem in 1080...

In 1767 he was created knight of the Papal States. In 1776 he created his famous Piranesi Vase, his best known work as a 'restorer' of ancient sculpture. In 1777-78 Piranesi published Avanzi degli Edifici di Pesto, (Remains of the Edifices of Paestum) a collection of views of Paestum. 1767 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Year 1776 (MDCCLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Thursday of the 11-day slower Julian calendar). ... The Piranesi Vase The Piranesi Vase or Boyd Vase is a reconstructed colossal ancient Roman krater on 3 legs and a triangular base, with a relief around the sides of the vase. ... Year 1777 (MDCCLXXVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Sunday of the 11-day slower Julian calendar). ... Paestum is the classical Roman name of a major Graeco-Roman city in the Campania region of Italy. ... Paestum is the classical Roman name of a major Graeco-Roman city in the Campania region of Italy. ...

He died in Rome in 1778 after a long illness.

The Arch of Trajan at Benevento as it appeared in the 18th century.

Download high resolution version (2612x1792, 2268 KB)Arch of Trajan, Benevento, etching by Giovanni Battista Piranesi The two-dimensional work of art depicted in this image is in the public domain in the United States and in those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 100... Download high resolution version (2612x1792, 2268 KB)Arch of Trajan, Benevento, etching by Giovanni Battista Piranesi The two-dimensional work of art depicted in this image is in the public domain in the United States and in those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 100... Benevento is a town and comune of Campania, Italy, capital of the province of Benevento, 50 km northeast of Naples. ...

The Vedute

The remains of Rome kindled Piranesi's enthusiasm. He was able to faithfully imitate the actual remains of a fabric; his invention in catching the design of the original architect provided the missing parts; his masterful skill at engraving introduced groups of vases, altars, tombs that were absent in reality; and his broad and scientific distribution of light and shade completed the picture, creating a striking effect from the whole view. Some of his later work was completed by his children and several pupils. Rocky landscape with ruins, by Nicolaes Berchem, ca. ... ‹ The template below (Expand) is being considered for deletion. ...

Piranesi's son and coadjutor, Francesco, collected and preserved his plates, in which the freer lines of the etching-needle largely supplemented the severity of burin work. Twenty nine folio volumes containing about 2000 prints appeared in Paris (1835 - 1837). The late Baroque works of Claude Lorrain, Salvatore Rosa, and others had featured romantic and fantastic depictions of ruins; in part as a memento mori or as a reminiscence of a golden age of construction. His reproductions of real and recreated Roman ruins were a strong influence on Neoclassicism. Francesco Piranesi (1756 or 1758 - 1810) was an Italian engraver and architect. ... In lithic reduction, a burin is a special type of lithic flake with a chisel-like edge which prehistoric humans may have used for engraving or for carving wood or bone. ... For other uses, see Baroque (disambiguation). ... Claude Lorrain. ... Salvator Rosa (1615 - March 15, 1673) was an Italian painter and poet of the Neapolitan school. ... For other uses, see Memento mori (disambiguation). ... Late Baroque classicizing: G. P. Pannini assembles the canon of Roman ruins and Roman sculpture into one vast imaginary gallery (1756) Neoclassicism (sometimes rendered as Neo-Classicism or Neo-classicism) is the name given to quite distinct movements in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that...

Carceri Plate VI - The Smoking Fire.

Carceri Plate VII - The Drawbridge.

Piranesi, Carceri Plate XI - The Arch with a shell ornament.

Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1409x1963, 1300 KB) Summary Giovanni Battista Piranesi: Etching from Carceri, Rome, 1745. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1409x1963, 1300 KB) Summary Giovanni Battista Piranesi: Etching from Carceri, Rome, 1745. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (648x868, 251 KB) Summary Giovanni Battista Piranesi: Drawbridge. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (648x868, 251 KB) Summary Giovanni Battista Piranesi: Drawbridge. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ...

The Prisons (Carceri)

The Prisons (Carceri d'invenzione or 'Imaginary Prisons'), is a series of 16 prints produced in first and second states that show enormous subterranean vaults with stairs and mighty machines.

These in turn influenced Romanticism and Surrealism. While the Vedutisti (or "view makers") such as Canaletto and Bellotto, more often reveled in the beauty of the sunlit place, in Piranesi this vision takes on a Kafkaesque, Escher-like distortion, seemingly erecting fantastic labyrinthian structures, epic in volume, but empty of purpose. They are cappricci -whimsical aggregates of monumental architecture and ruin. Romantics redirects here. ... Max Ernst. ... The River Thames from Somerset House: a classic veduta by Canaletto, 1747. ... The Stonemasons Yard, painted 1726-30. ... Bellottos urban scenes have the same carefully drawn realism as his uncles Venetian views but are marked by heavy shadows and are darker and colder in tone and colour. ... Kafkaesque is an adjective which is used to describe concepts, situations, and ideas which are reminiscent of the literary work of Prague writer Franz Kafka, particularly his novel The Trial and his novella The Metamorphosis. ... People with the surname Escher include: Alfred Escher (1819-1882), Swiss politician and railway pioneer Arnold Escher von der Linth Felix Escher Hans Conrad Escher von der Linth (1767-1823) Josef Escher (1885-1954), Swiss Federal Councilor M. C. Escher (1898-1972), Dutch illustrator Esher (misspelling), character in Myst V...

The first state prints were published in 1745 and consisted of 14 etchings. The original prints were 16” x 21”. For the second publishing in 1761, all the etchings were reworked and numbered I - XVI (1-16). Numbers II and V were new etchings to the series. Numbers I through IX were all done in portrait format (taller than they are wide), while X to XVI were landscape (wider than they are high). The titles are:

• I - Title Plate
• II - The Man on the Rack
• III - The Round Tower
• IV - The Grand Piazza
• V - The Lion Bas-Reliefs
• VI - The Smoking Fire
• VII - The Drawbridge
• VIII - The Staircase with Trophies
• IX - The Giant Wheel
• X - Prisoners on a Projecting Platform
• XI - The Arch with a Shell Ornament
• XII - The Sawhorse
• XIII - The Well
• XIV - The Gothic Arch
• XV - The Pier with a Lamp
• XVI - The Pier with Chains

Thomas De Quincey in Confessions of an English Opium-Eater (1820) wrote the following: Thomas de Quincey from the frontispiece of Revolt of the Tartars, Thomas de Quincey (August 15, 1785 – December 8, 1859) was an English author and intellectual. ... Confessions of an English Opium Eater (1821). ... 1820 was a leap year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ...

An in-depth analysis of Piranesi's "Carceri" was written by Marguerite Yourcenar in her Dark Brain of Piranesi (1979). Further discussion of Piranesi and the "Carceri" can be found in The Mind and Art of Giovanni Battista Piranesi by John Wilton-Ely (1978). The style of Piranesi was imitated by 20th-century forger Eric Hebborn. Samuel Taylor Coleridge (October 21, 1772 – July 25, 1834) (pronounced ) was an English poet, critic, and philosopher who was, along with his friend William Wordsworth, one of the founders of the Romantic Movement in England and one of the Lake Poets. ... Interior of Cologne Cathedral Interior of San Zanipolo, Venice, photo Giovanni dallOrto. ... Marguerite Yourcenar was the pseudonym of French novelist Marguerite Cleenewerck de Crayencour (June 8, 1903 - December 17, 1987). ... Eric Hebborn (1934-1996) was a British painter and art forger. ...

References

• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
• Ficacci, L. (2000). Giovanni Battista Piranesi: The Complete Etchings. 
• Focillon, Henri (1918). Giovanni Battista Piranesi: Essai de catalogue raisonné de son oeuvre. 
• Hofer, P., 1973. The Prisons (Le Carceri) - The complete first and second states. 
• Maclaren, S. (2005). La magnificenza e il suo doppio. Il pensiero estetico di Giovanni Battista Piranesi. Milan: Mimesis. ISBN 88-8483-248-9
• Miller, N. (1978). Archäologie des Traums. Versuch über Giovanni Battista Piranesi. 
• Tafuri, Manfredo (1986). La sfera e il labirinto : Avanguardia e architettura da Piranesi agli anni ’70. Turin: Giulio Einaudi. 
• Wilton-Ely, J. (1978). The Mind and Art of Giovanni Battista Piranesi. London: Thames & Hudson. 
• Wilton-Ely, J. (1994). Giovanni Battista Piranesi: The Complete Etchings - an Illustrated Catalogue. San Francisco: Alan Wofsy Fine Arts publications. 

Piranesi is now also the name of a beautiful, intelligent young girl, Piranesi Veta Lolita O'Hare Evans. Situated in Norfolk and daughter of Mr Simon Evans and Ms Tina O'Hare, this girl is truely unique. <3 Encyclopædia Britannica, the eleventh edition The Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition (1910–1911) is perhaps the most famous edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica. ... The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge&#8212;writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others&#8212;in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ... Giulio Einaudi (January 2, 1912 - April 5, 1999) is one of the most important publishers in Italian history. ...

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Giovanni Battista Piranesi

• Etchings of Piranesi - Text and a few images from Artchive
• Prisons of the Imagination – images from the exhibition of the Carceri
• Antichita Romanae (1748)- 102 images from BNF
• All 1000+ images from the 1835 complete edition of his works
• Promenades Of An Art Impressionist - Piranesi
• "Giambattista Piranesi". Catholic Encyclopedia. (1913). New York: Robert Appleton Company.