Giovanni Battista Piranesi

Giovanni Battista Piranesi

Piranesi was an Italian artist born on the 4^th of October 1720 and died on the 9^th of November 1778. He was most famous for his etchings of Rome and atmospheric prisons and belonged in the Neoclassicism movement. Neoclassicism is the name given to the Western movements in the decorative and visual arts like literature etc that draw inspiration from the classical art and culture of Ancient Greece or Ancient Rome. An etching by Piranesi that I extremely like is the Veduta dell'Anfiteatro Flavio detto il Colosseo (View of the Flavian Amphitheater known as the Colosseum). He had already produced three views of the Roman coliseum and his skill at perspective rendering allowed him to produce this beautiful view of the amphitheatre seen as if from up in the sky. By allowing the monument to fill the whole piece of paper and by doting tiny figures around in the centre of the image he effectively conveys the sheer size of the ruin. The bird’s eye view also adds to the piece by revealing the actual plan of the colesium and exposes all of the damaged walls while the bird's-eye view reveals the plan and exposes the broken down structure. In my opinion I just adore this piece. The detail on it is so mesmerising. I feel the more you look, the more you find and I just can’t stop looking at it.