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

A work made of etching, engraving, sulphur tint, and burnishing in black on ivory laid paper.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • A work made of etching, engraving, sulphur tint, and burnishing in black on ivory laid paper.

Date:

1750, reworked 1761

Artist:

Giovanni Battista Piranesi
Italian, 1720-1778

About this artwork

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

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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