Plate 4 from Carceri d'Invenzione

The Grand Piazza, 18th century

Etchingexpand_more

The Martha T. Wallace Memorial Fund, 1930expand_more  P.11,328

Not on Viewexpand_more

Traces of Piranesi’s abandoned first draft—faint, intermittent straight lines that crisscross the background— reveal his improvisational working method. Using printing plates as sketch pads, torturing them with corrosive acids, and radically reworking them, Piranesi fully exploited the liberties afforded by etching. He ranks among the select company of artists—Rembrandt is another—who have done the same.

Details
Title
The Grand Piazza
Artist Life
Italian, 1720–1778
Role
Artist
Accession Number
P.11,328
Provenance
Erbach-Erbach family, Schloss Erbach Hofbibliothek, Erbach (Odenwald), Germany. F. H. Bresler Gallery, Milwaukee, Wisc.
Catalogue Raisonne
Hind prisons 04 ii/iii, F.27, Robison 31 v/vi
Curator Approved

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Plate 4 from Carceri d'Invenzione