Dark prison with a courtyard for the punishment of criminals... (Carcere oscura con Antenna pel suplizio dè malfatori...), from "Prima Parte di Architettura, e Prospettive"
ca. 1750
Medium
Etching
Dimensions
Plate (Image): 14 3/8 × 9 5/16 in. (36.5 × 23.7 cm) Plate (Inscription): 7/8 × 9 3/16 in. (2.2 × 23.3 cm) Sheet: 19 7/16 × 13 3/16 in. (49.4 × 33.5 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(5)
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the shadowy depths of Giovanni Battista Pir's *Dark prison with a courtyard the punishment of criminals...* (ca. 1750), an evocative etching from his *Prima Parte di Architettura e Prospettive*. The Italian artist, renowned for his masterful vedute—detailed views of Roman ruins and architecture—here conjures a fantastical underworld. Towering arches frame a grim courtyard where an ominous antenna-like structure hints at medieval punishments, blending real architectural motifs with Piranesi's boundless imagination. Piranesi's etching technique shines in this plate, where fine lines b...
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...