The Well, from "Carceri d'invenzione" (Imaginary Prisons)
ca. 1749–50
Medium
Etching, engraving, scratching, burnishing, lavis; first state of six (Robison)
Dimensions
Sheet: 19 7/16 x 25 in. (49.4 x 63.5 cm) Plate: 16 x 21 9/16 in. (40.6 x 54.8 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(28)
Tags
Art Historical Context
Welcome to the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints department, where Giovanni Battista Piranesi's * Well*, from the groundbreaking series *Carceri'invenzione* (inary Prisons), ca. 1749–50, captivates with its labyrinthine vision. Created in collaboration with Giovanni Bouchard, etching plunges viewers into a colossal, fictional underworld of towering arches, spiraling staircases, and a central well guarded by shadowy human figures. Part of Piranesi's iconic 14 series (later expanded), it embodies the artist's obsession with architecture's sublime potential, blending real Roman inf...
About the Artist
Giovanni Battista Piranesi|Giovanni Bouchard · 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...