View of the large Trevi Fountain formerly called the Acqua Vergine, from Views of Rome
1750/59
Medium
Etching on heavy ivory laid paper
Dimensions
Image: 38.1 × 54.9 cm (15 × 21 5/8 in.); Plate: 40.1 × 55 cm (15 13/16 × 21 11/16 in.); Sheet: 45.7 × 61.3 cm (18 × 24 3/16 in.)
Classification
etching
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
48213
Art Historical Context
Step into 18th-century Rome with Battista Piranesi's captivating etching, *View of the large Tre Fountain formerly called the Ac Vergine*, from his *Views of Rome* series (ca. 1750–59). Piranesi, a masterful Venetian and architect, immortalized the Eternal City's architectural wonders through vedute—topographical views that blend precise documentation with dramatic flair. This print captures the newly completed Trevi Fountain, Rome's baroque masterpiece designed by Nicola Salvi and completed in 1762, at the terminus of the ancient Acqua Vergine aqueduct, highlighting its role as a vital water ...
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...