View of the Remains of the Tomb of the Plautii on the Via Tiburtina, near the Ponte Lugano, two miles distant from Tivoli, from Views of Rome
1760/69, published 1800–07 · Etching on heavy ivory laid paper · Image: 46 × 62.2 cm (18 1/8 × 24 1/2 in.); Plate: 46.3 × 62.5 cm (18 1/4 × 24 5/8 in.); Sheet: 56 × 78.5 cm (22 1/16 × 30 15/16 in.)
Piranesi, View of the Remains of the Tomb of the Plautii on the Via Tiburtina, near the Ponte Lugano, two miles distant from Tivoli, from Views of Rome, 1760/69, published 1800–07. Etching on heavy ivory laid paper.
The Art Institute of Chicago · Clarence Buckingham 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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