The Round Tower, plate 3 from the second edition of Carceri d'invenzione (Imaginary Prisons)

Prints and Drawings

1750, reworked 1761

Giovanni Battista Piranesi
Italian, 1720-1778

In addition to dramatic views of Roman architecture, Giovanni Battista Piranesi created a series of prison interiors that were entirely invented. These vast, entangled passageways and cavernous chambers were first printed around 1750. Ten years later, Piranesi reworked the plates, heightening their ominous
state in an implied critique of social injustice.

Status: Currently Off View
Department: Prints and Drawings

Artist: Giovanni Battista Piranesi
Title: The Round Tower, plate 3 from the second edition of Carceri d'invenzione (Imaginary Prisons)
Place: Italy (Artist's nationality:)
Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.: Printed 1761–1765
Medium: Etching, engraving, sulphur tint, and burnishing in black on ivory laid paper
Dimensions: Image: 54.2 × 41 cm (21 3/8 × 16 3/16 in.); Plate: 54.9 × 41.6 cm (21 5/8 × 16 7/16 in.); Sheet: 56.1 × 42.5 cm (22 1/8 × 16 3/4 in.)
Credit Line: Joseph Brooks Fair Memorial Collection
Reference Number: 1918.332
IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.: https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/74624/manifest.json

Hind 3 II/III

Robison 30 III/VI

Focillon 26

Ficacci 112

Wilton-Ely 28

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The Round Tower, plate 3 from the second edition of Carceri d'invenzione (Imaginary Prisons)

Currently Off View

Date:

Artist:

About this artwork

Status

Department

Artist

Title

Place

Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

Medium

Dimensions

Credit Line

Reference Number

IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.

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IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.