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

Joseph Brooks Fair Memorial Collection

"The Round Tower, plate 3 from the second edition of Carceri d'invenzione (Imaginary Prisons)" by Giovanni Battista Piranesi (1750, reworked 1761) Etching, engraving, sulphur tint, and burnishing in black on ivory laid paper.

Commentary

"The Round Tower, plate 3 from the second edition of Carceri d'invenzione (Imaginary Prisons)" by Giovanni Battista Piranesi (1750, reworked 1761) invites a close look at how form and feeling work together. The print-based method rewards close viewing, whe re line, texture, and contrast do most of the expressive work. Themes to notice include etching. This piece is held in the source collection's Prints and Drawings collection. Giovanni Battista Piranesi is the artist behind this work. A useful anchor for reading the piece: Giovanni Battista Piranesi Italian, 1720-1778. The work is cataloged within a Italy cultural context. How to look at this work: It is cataloged as etching, which gives a clue to how the museum frames the object. Its medium (Etching, engraving, sulphur tint, and burnishing in black on ivory laid paper) affects texture, durability, and how detail reads at different distances. Its listed 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.)) suggest how intimate or monumental it may feel in person. Subject cues from the catalog include etching. Compare this reading with the museum record at the source collection: https://www.artic.edu/artworks/74624

Sources: Art Institute of Chicago; Art Institute of Chicago / Public Records; Art Institute of Chicago Collection Data