Titelprent met gezicht in kerker en titel op muur

About this artwork

Titelprent bij de tweede editie van de 'Carceri'-reeks door Giovanni Battista Piranesi. De 14 platen (inclusief titelprent) tellende eerste editie van de 'Carceri'-reeks werd uitgegeven door Giovanni Bouchard te Rome tussen 1749-1750. Deze eerste editie van de reeks droeg de titel: 'Invenzioni Capric di Carceri all Acqua Forte'. De tweede editie gaf Piranesi zelf uit in 1761. Voor deze uitgave bewerkte hij alle platen en voegde hij twee nieuwe platen toe. De serie kreeg de nieuwe titel: 'Carcer...

Art Historical Context

Giovanni Battista Piranesi's *Titelprent met gezicht in kerker en titel op muur* (1761) serves as the evocative title plate for the second of his renowned *Carceri d'invenzione* (Imaginary Prisons) series. This monumental etching, measuring 549 × 413 mm, plunges viewers into a shadowy dungeon vista, with the series title boldly inscribed on a crumbling wall. Piranesi, a masterful Venetian-born artist and architect active in 18th-century Rome, crafted these works as flights of architectural fantasy, blending Baroque grandeur with proto-Romantic drama. The *Carceri* first appeared in 1749–1750 ...

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...