Carceri Series, Plate X
Classification
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Gift of Gertrude W. Lewis
Accession Number
1959-182-9
About this artwork
Research in Progress
Art Historical Context
Giovanni Battista Piranesi's *Carceri Series, X* (1745) is a print from one of the 18th-century Italian master's most imaginative bodies of work. Born in Venice and later based in Rome, Piranesi a multifaceted artist—architect, engraver, and vedutista (painter of views)—whose dramatic etchings captured the grandeur of ancient Roman ruins while venturing into fantastical realms. This piece belongs to his iconic *Carceri d'Invenzione* (Imaginary Prisons), a series of, labyrinthine architectural fantasies that evoke endless vaults, towering staircases, and shadowy machinery, blending real and inv...