This path was created by Mallory Baskin.  The last update was by Jeanne Britton.

The Digital Piranesi

Views

Piranesi’s Views of Rome (Vedute di Roma) series, begun by 1748, expanded the popular genre of the “view” or “veduta.” Views traditionally offered realistic depictions of architecture or landscape, and their keys identified particular buildings and monuments. Many of Piranesi’s annotated views, though, include copious amounts of information on a single page. In addition to architectural details, archaeological interventions, and detailed measurements, some of his annotations include personal opinion, historical speculation, and first-person narrative. Piranesi said that ruins, more than the drawings of the influential Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio (1508-1580), “spoke” to him. In his annotated views, ancient and modern architecture seems to speak, in a different way, to his viewers and readers. His annotations break the illusion of visual art, and they combine immersive, imposing images with objective information, historical detail, or aesthetic theory.  (Views from volumes 15 [complete], 16 [incomplete], and 17 [incomplete] are included below. Views also appear in virtually all of Piranesi's other major works, especially volumes 1-6, 8, 9-11. Those views will be added below as well.).




 
 

 

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