The Digital PiranesiMain MenuAboutThe Digital Piranesi is a developing digital humanities project that aims to provide an enhanced digital edition of the works of Italian illustrator Giovanni Battista Piranesi (1720-1778).Works and VolumesGenres, Subjects, and ThemesBibliographyGlossary
12018-11-06T19:34:40-08:00View of the Small Waterfalls in Tivoli19Veduta delle Cascatelle a Tivoliplain2022-08-08T18:17:25-07:00Title: VEDUTA DELLE CASCATELLE A TIUOLI Signature: Cavalier Piranesi del(ineavit). e inc(idit).Title: View of the Small Waterfalls in Tivoli. Signature: Designed and engraved by the Knight Piranesi.Piranesi here depicts a primarily natural scene where there is almost no sign of human interference. Uniquely devoid of any man-made structures, this image suggests his potential skills as a landscape artist of a particularly Romantic bent (Scott 175). Compared with the sketch Robert Adam made from a very similar vantage point, this view of the small waterfall at Tivoli includes dramatic embellishments absent from Adam’s more accurate depiction (Tait 524-5). It shares the general compositional features of the previous view of the large waterfall: in each view, a cliff looms on the left, with a human figure gesturing perilously towards the water, two fishermen appear in the foreground, and the title appears in an illusionistic slab on the lower right. Delicate foliage and curved lines suggest flowing movement rather than a precipitous drop. As the close-ups in the gallery below suggest, ... Or show each side-by-side [more text ...] To see this image in the Vedute di Roma, volume 17 of Piranesi’s Opere, click here.