Colonnaded hall according to the custom of the ancient Romans, and niches adorned with statues (Sala all'uso degli antichi Romani con Colonne, e nicchie ornate di Statue), from "Prima Parte di Architettura, e Prospettive"
ca. 1750
Medium
Etching
Dimensions
Plate (Image): 9 5/8 × 14 7/16 in. (24.5 × 36.6 cm) Plate (Inscription): 5/8 × 14 5/16 in. (1.6 × 36.3 cm) Sheet: 13 1/4 × 19 1/2 in. (33.7 × 49.5 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1937
Accession Number
37.45.3(14)
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the grand tradition of 18th-century Italian vedute—detailed architectural views—Giovanni Battista Piranesi's etching *Colonnaded hall according to the custom of the ancient, and niches adorned with* (ca. 1750) imagines a majestic interior inspired by classical antiquity. Part of his early series *Prima Parte di Architettura, e Prospettive*, this work depicts a vast, colonnaded hall with rhythmic arches, towering columns, and niches filled with heroic statues, evoking the opulence of ancient Roman palaces. Piranesi, a master etcher and visionary architect, blends precise observation with dra...
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...