View of the Palazzo di Montecitorio, from Views of Rome
1750/59
Medium
Etching on heavy ivory laid paper
Dimensions
Image: 38 × 61 cm (15 × 24 1/16 in.); Plate: 40.4 × 61.7 cm (15 15/16 × 24 5/16 in.); Sheet: 48 × 68.7 cm (18 15/16 × 27 1/16 in.)
Classification
etching
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
48177
Art Historical Context
In the mid-18th century, Battista Piranesi, a masterful Venetian-born artist and architect, captured the timeless allure of Rome through his groundbreaking series *Views of Rome* (*Vedute di Roma*). etching, *View of the Palazzo dicitorio*, created between 1750 and 1759, showcases the imposing Baroque palace—once home to ancient obelisks and papal offices—with Piranesi's signature dramatic flair. As a key figure in the Vedutismo movement, elevated topographic views from mere documentation to evocative art, blending meticulous observation with a sense of sublime grandeur that influenced Romanti...
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...