Giovanni Battista Piranesi (Italian, 1720–1778) When he was twenty-three, Piranesi made this preparatory study for an etching. The etching was published as part of a series of architectural and
perspective images. He combined arches, pedestals, columns, bridges, and sculptures in an imaginative reconstruction of monumental and complex
classical architecture. Piranesi took a creative approach when he made architectural fantasies like this one, using
antique ruins as his point of departure. On this process he wrote:
These speaking ruins have filled my spirit with images that accurate drawings, even such as those of the immortal Palladio, could never have succeeded in conveying, though I always kept them before my eyes.
Piranesi first drew the main outlines of the architecture in chalk, then added brown and red
wash for shading and details. Small figures in boats are indicated with broad strokes of wash. Varying tones of wash and rapid, squiggly lines evoke atmospheric conditions. A
squaring in black chalk lines helped the artist transfer his design to the etching plate.
High Quality Wood Framed Print using museum quality paper and archival inks with a white border or with cut mat for a contemporary look. Comes with Acrylite glazing and hanging hardware. These are Made in USA or Europe depending upon your location.
Stretched Canvas is stretched over 1.25" thick pine bars and printed on heavy cotton poly matte finish canvas. Comes with mounting brackets. These are Made in USA or Europe depending upon your location.
Giclee Prints are printed on 260gsm satin finish using the finest archival inks. Each print carries a white border around the perimeter. The listed size refers to the overall paper dimensions. The image is printed proportionally within this paper size and includes a small white border. These are Made in USA or Europe depending upon your location.
All of our images are digitized from the original or negative.
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Artwork in this collection is from The J. Paul Getty Museum. Reproduction rights are reserved by the copyright owner and used under license by Archivea.
