Giovanni
Battista Piranesi was an Italian graphic artist famous
for his engravings and etchings. He created more than
2000 prints of real and imaginary buildings, statues,
and ornaments. He contributed to 18th-century neoclassicism
by his enthusiastic renderings of ancient Roman monuments,
which included both accurate portrayals of existing ruins
and imaginary reconstructions of ancient buildings in
which alterations of scale and juxtaposition of elements
enhance the sense of grandeur.
One of Piranesi's earliest and most lastingly renowned
collections is his Carceri d'Invenzione (Imaginary Prisons,
1745; 2nd edition, 1760), in which he transformed Roman
ruins into fantastic, immeasurable dungeons dominated
by immense, gloomy arcades, staircases rising to incredible
heights, and bizarre galleries leading nowhere. These
engravings became an important influence on 19th-century
romanticism and also played a role in the development
of 20th-century surrealism.
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