A. View of the Tomb of Licinianus Piso on the ancient Appian Way... B. Tomb of the Cornelii..., from Views of Rome
1764, published 1800–07 · Etching on heavy ivory laid paper · Image: 40.5 × 60.3 cm (16 × 23 3/4 in.); Plate: 41.3 × 61.1 cm (16 5/16 × 24 1/16 in.); Sheet: 49 × 66.9 cm (19 5/16 × 26 3/8 in.)
Piranesi, A. View of the Tomb of Licinianus Piso on the ancient Appian Way... B. Tomb of the Cornelii..., from Views of Rome, 1764, published 1800–07. Etching on heavy ivory laid paper.
The Art Institute of Chicago · The Charles Deering Collection
How to look at a Piranesi
- Find the figures first. Then look at how big the architecture has become because of them.
- Follow the gradient on the largest plane. It never bands.
- Look at his skies: broken, directional lines, never flat hatching.
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Views of Rome: The Tomb, called La Connocchia
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