This content was created by Avery Freeman. The last update was by Harith Kumte.
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
View of the Ruins of the Forum of Nerva
12020-04-10T20:59:04-07:00Avery Freemanb9edcb567e2471c9ec37caa50383522b90999cba228493from Volume 01 of Giovanni Battista Piranesi's Opereplain2021-01-21T18:35:01-08:00Internet Archiveimagepiranesi-ia-vol1-051.jpgHarith Kumte99279d66eba29dfb66cd2510732c5a9dd9b59c7a
12021-03-30T11:16:10-07:00View of the Remains of the Forum of Nerva10Veduta degli avanzi del Foro di Nervaplain2024-11-08T08:54:22-08:00Veduta degli avanzi del Foro di Nerva; A. Mura della di lui circonferenza fabbricate di peperini. B. Avanzi della Curia. C. Impressione nelle mura lasciata dal tetto de portici. D. Archi transitorj. E. Tribunale de Giudici subalterni del Foro. F. Nicchie per le statue degli uomini illustri.; Piranesi Architetto dis(egnò) inc(ise).View of the remains of the Forum of Nerva; A. Walls of the Forum’s circumference built in peperino. B. Remains of the Curia. C. Impression in the wall left by the roof of the porticoes. D. Transitional arches. E. Tribunal for the judges below the Forum. F. Niches for statues of illustrious men.; Drawn and engraved by the Architect Piranesi.
This annotated veduta displays the opposing forces of information and aesthetics that shape much of Piranesi’s work. The Forum of Nerva, one of four Imperial forums, was completed in 97 CE. Piranesi depicts and identifies what was once the heart of the political-social life of ancient Rome with the Curia (B) and the tribunal (E), which was heavily dilapidated in his time. His information is scant: the high wall is noted for being made of “peperini” (A), a volcanic tuff and strong building material, and the columns on the left side are, according to Piranesi, part of the remains of the Curia (B) but today part of the Forum of Augustus.
Other annotations require more work of the beholder, as Piranesi does not identify, for example, the church. He was more interested in the transitory arches (D), as he explains elsewhere that this was called the Transitory Forum for its many archways that entered the nearby Forums of Augustus, Caesar, and Trajan, as well as the Roman Forum (Index to the Map of Rome, no. 263).It also connected it to the Suburra quarter, the neighborhood behind the forum, on the Quirinale Hill, as seen in his larger veduta of the same subject. The larger veduta reveals more information, such as the name of the larger archway (Arco de’ Pantani) and the Curia that in Piranesi’s time was part of the church and monastery of the nuns of the Annunciation.
Piranesi depicted and interpreted part of the Forum of Augustus as the Forum of Nerva. This is not the Curia but instead the columns of the Temple of Mars Ultor (Mariani 2014, 144), as also the recent photograph and plan of the different Forums below show. Piranesi seems more interested in the visual rather than informative potential of this print. By placing the sun high in the sky, he provides shade for the staffage figures to the right, next to the high wall. This lighting obscures the alphabetic letters, especially letter F at the top right. What does stand out, though, is the bright illumination in the middle of these shadows. While creating a dramatic contrast between shadow and illumination, his visual emphasis literally overshadows his verbal information. (ML)
