Tombe van Caecilia Metella te Rome
ca. 1756 - ca. 1757
Medium
etching
Dimensions
609; 397
About this artwork
height 397 mm x width 609 mm
Art Historical Context
Step into the shadowy grandeur of ancient Rome with Giovanni Battista Pir's etching *Tombe van Caec Metella te Rome*ca. 1756–1757). This monumental work, measuring 397 mm high by 609 mm wide, captures the Tomb of Caeciliaella, a first-century BC mausoleum along the Appian Way. for a noblewoman from the powerful Caecilii Metelli family, the drum-shaped structure with its frieze of trophies symbolized Roman imperial might and enduring legacy. Piranesi, a virtuoso of the 18th-century Vedutisti movement, transformed archaeological documentation into dramatic visions of antiquity. His etchings, pa...
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...