The Pier with Chains, plate 16 from Imaginary Prisons
Medium
Etching and engraving on heavy ivory laid paper
Dimensions
Image: 40.9 × 55 cm (16 1/8 × 21 11/16 in.); Plate: 40.9 × 55 cm (16 1/8 × 21 11/16 in.); Sheet: 58.5 × 77.8 cm (23 1/16 × 30 11/16 in.)
Classification
etching
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
7383
Art Historical Context
Step into the shadowy depths of Giovanni Battista Pir's imagination with *The Pier with Chains*, 16 from his renowned series *Imaginary Prisons* (ceri d'inven), created in 1761. This etching and engraving captures Piranesi's fascination with colossal, labyrinthine architecture—vast piers chained together in an endless, decaying prison that defies reality. As a leading 18th-century vedutista (view-maker) in Rome, Piranesi blended meticulous draftsman skills with fantastical invention, drawing from ancient Roman ruins and Baroque grandeur to evoke the sublime terror of confinement and infinity. ...
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...