The Pier with Chains, c. 1761
Giovanni Battista Piranesiexpand_more
Etchingexpand_more
The Martha T. Wallace Memorial Fund, 1930expand_more P.11,340
Not on Viewexpand_more
The inscriptions on the tablets are based on the ancient writer Livy’s History of Rome (27-9 BCE). In part, the ominous phrases read “to terrify . . .,” “infamous wickedness . . .,” and “thus to treason and evil conduct.” Whether or not these allusions to classical texts are meant to locate the Prisons in antiquity, they address the darkest recesses of the viewer’s consciousness.
Details
- Title
- The Pier with Chains
- Artist Life
- Italian, 1720–1778
- Role
- Artist
- Accession Number
- P.11,340
- Provenance
- Erbach-Erbach family, Schloss Erbach Hofbibliothek, Erbach (Odenwald), Germany. F. H. Bresler Gallery, Milwaukee, Wisc.
- Catalogue Raisonne
- Hind prisons 16 ii/iii, F.39, Robison 42 v/vi
- Curator Approved
This record has been reviewed by our curatorial staff but may be incomplete. These records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please email collectionsdata@artsmia.org.
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