Arch of Galienus. I. Facade of the Church of S. Vito, plate 29 from Some Views of Triumphal Arches and other monuments
Medium
Etching on ivory laid paper
Dimensions
Image: 12.7 × 26.5 cm (5 × 10 7/16 in.); Plate: 13.5 × 26.5 cm (5 3/8 × 10 7/16 in.); Sheet: 34 × 45.5 cm (13 7/16 × 17 15/16 in.)
Classification
etching
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
181382
Art Historical Context
Giovanni Battista Piranesi’s etching captures the Arch of Gallienus, a third-century Roman monument, as it appeared in the mid-eighteenth century, partially incorporated into the Baroque façade of the Church of San Vito. Created in 1748 as plate 29 in his series *Some Views of Triumphal Arches and other monuments*, the print records how ancient and later structures coexisted in Rome’s urban fabric. Piranesi, renowned for his vedute, presents the scene with careful attention to architectural detail and the play of light across weathered stone. The work reflects the eighteenth-century fascinati...
About the Artist
Giovanni Battista Piranesi · 1720–1778
Giovanni Battista Piranesi (1720–1778) was an Italian printmaker, architect, and antiquarian whose visionary etchings of Rome and imaginary prisons revolutionized architectural representation and profoundly influenced both Neoclassicism and Romanticism. Piranesi stands as one of the most important printmakers of the eighteenth century, fundamentally shaping European perceptions of ancient Rome an...