Avanzo della gran Fabbrica sepolcrale, aggiunta al Mausoleo di Costanza …, from Antichità Romane, volume II, plate XXII
[1756]
Caption:
Sezione I. A Avanzo della gran Fabbrica sepolcrale, aggiunta al Mausoleo di Costanza. Notasi in quest’Avanzo una maniera di fabbricare di gran lunga inferiore a quella, colla quale fu costruito il Mausoleo, vedendovisi inseriti nel muro de’ tavoloni di legno, ed una mala disposizione di finestre, e di altre parti, la quale molto si allontana dalla soda regolata Architettura de i secoli anteriori. B Finestre, le quali davano il lume agli Anditi. C Nicchie, ove si sepellivano i morti. D Speroni. E Terreno, nuovam.te riportato. F Avanzi del Vestibolo. G Ingresso antico con nicchie; la Facciata, che oggi si vede, è moderna. H Tetti moderni fatti per conservare la Fabbrica. Sezione II. I Speroni, che sostengono l’uno de’ lati circolari della gran Fab.ca sepolcrale. K Fianco del Vestibolo. L Fianco del Mausoleo. M Bassamento, il quale reggeva le Colonne dell’Ambulacro esterno. N Porta moderna. O Avanzi della Volta dell’Ambulacro esterno. Sezione III. per traverso. P Spaccato del Mausoleo, nell’interno del quale si veggono le Colonne, che sostengono le pareti, la cupola, e le volte dell’Ambulacro interno, lavorate a scompartim.ti di mosaico. Q Finestre antiche nelle volte. R Finestre moderne. S Spaccato dell’Urna. T Bassam.to coperto dal terreno. U Sotterranei riempiuti di rovine ove probabilm.te era situata l’Urna. X Vestibolo. Y Muri, e Speroni della gran Fabb.ca sepolc.le.
Piranesi Archit. dis. ed inc.
The second volume of Antichità Romane is dedicated to the tombs on the Appia and elsewhere outside the walls of the city. The elevations and sections of the cemetery and basilica complex here form the second of a group of 5 prints dedicated to the monuments and architecture of Santa Costanza, originally a mausoleum and then a church adjacent to the Honorian basilica of S. Agnese and its associated catacomb on the western side of the via Nomentana, north of Porta Pia. These archaeological prints are complemented by the contemporaneous veduta of the Mausoleum (see TA[PRI]-GBP12-120). The first of the Antichità Romane prints (not in this exhibition) is a plan of the site in which, like here, he blends on site reality with fantasy.
Piranesi contributes in the caption to the various opinions of antiquarians on the dating of the complex; he argues, erroneously, that the Mausoleum antedates the adjacent basilica, based on its brick work. He also enjoys creating an aesthetically varied composition, emphasising the rural aspect of the ruins in a proto-romantic spirit. The use of a fictive fragment of marble sarcophagus in the foreground as the support for the ‘carved inscription’ scale of the architectural drawing is a typical Piranesian flourish - fact, fantasy, reality and imagination, science and art are combined happily. The imposing buttresses and substructures of the basilica (in the caption as I) are still visible today from the public road that runs behind the complex.
BSR: TA[PRI]-GBP03-019
Focillon no. 244
Wilton-Ely no. 379
Bibliography
Salinitro, C. (2014) in Mariani G. (ed.) Giambattista Piranesi: matrici incise, 1756-1757. Vol. 2. Milan: Mazzotta, no. 101, pp. 233-234
and
Istituto Centrale per la Grafica
Musso, L. (1979) ‘Mausoleo di Costanza’, in Piranesi nei Luoghi di Piranesi. Archeologia piranesiana: Orti Farnesiani. Roma: Multigrafica-F.lli Palombi, pp. 85-98
How to quote this page:
Avanzo della gran Fabbrica sepolcrale, aggiunta al Mausoleo di Costanza …, from Antichità Romane, volume II, plate XXII. Author(s) of this publication: Clare Hornsby. Publishing date: 12/06/2024 URL: https://ipervisions.digitalcollections.bsr.ac.uk/piranesi-project-may-2024/?slide=0 Date visited:
Veduta interna del Sepolcro di S. Costanza, fabbricato da Costantino Magno, ed erroneamente detto il Tempio di Bacco, inoggi Chiesa della medesima Santa
[pre 1751]
Caption:
1. Colonne, basi, e capitelli di grandezza e ornamenti disuguali, tolti da diversi edifizi. 2. Musaici antichi. 3. Finestre antiche. 4. Candelieri antichi di marmo. 5. Pitture moderne. 6. Urna di Porfido tutta d’un pezzo lunga pal. 11. alta p. 5.10. larga 6.9. Il coperchio alto 3.2.
Piranesi architetto fec.
Presso l’autore a Strada Felice vicino alla Trinità de’ Monti. A paoli due e mezzo
Piranesi shows this magnificent late antique Mausoleum in a view taken from its entrance doorway that leads in the circular ambulatory with the sanctuary and altar in the centre. This centrally planned structure was originally connected to a vast basilica built under Constantine in 324, of which only supporting walls remain and was built as a cemetery, adjacent to the tomb of the early martyr Agnes in the catacombs below. The mosaics in the ambulatory vault - some with geometric patterns and others with vines and images of the wine harvest - a common theme in early Christian art - are shown in some detail, as well as the paired spolia columns and the ancient candelabra flanking the altar. The principal object in the church, named after Constantine’s daughter, is her enormous porphyry sarcophagus (now in the Vatican museums) which is rather hidden at the back of the image. The wall paintings shown on the interior of the drum are now badly preserved; they date from the early 17th century when the original mosaics were removed.
This is one of the early group of Piranesi’s vedute; the series began with 11 prints of views of the major early Christian basilicas of Rome but Santa Costanza is placed separately from these, despite dating from the same era. The interior proportions of the building are vastly exaggerated by Piranesi, especially the width of the ambulatory; this type of effect is very common in his views. The title indicates the original - erroneous - identification of the building as a “tempio di Bacco”. It had been named as such by 16th century observers - Palladio and Serlio had both done drawings of the “temple”. Piranesi would have worked on this view at the same period as the plates in the Antichità Romane volume II (see TA[PRI]-GBP03-019, TA[PRI]-GBP03-020 and TA[PRI]-GBP02-021), around 1750. This copy is a second state: in the first, the label only has the ‘Tempio di Bacco’ designation.
BSR: TA[PRI]-GBP12-120
Catalogo delle Opere no. 37
Focillon no. 811
Hind (1922) no. 37
Wilton-Ely no. 158
Bibliography
Williams, R.B. (1990) in Piranesi, Rome recorded: a complete edition of Giovanni Battista Piranesi’s Vedute di Roma from the collection of the Arthur Ross Foundation. 2nd edn. Rome: American Academy in Rome, no. 21, pp. 59-60
Musso, L. (1979) ‘Mausoleo di Costanza’, in Piranesi nei Luoghi di Piranesi. Archeologia piranesiana: Orti Farnesiani. Roma: Multigrafica-F.lli Palombi, pp. 85-98
How to quote this page:
Veduta interna del Sepolcro di S. Costanza, fabbricato da Costantino Magno, ed erroneamente detto il Tempio di Bacco, inoggi Chiesa della medesima Santa. Author(s) of this publication: Clare Hornsby. Publishing date: 12/06/2024 URL: https://ipervisions.digitalcollections.bsr.ac.uk/piranesi-project-may-2024/?slide=1 Date visited:
Nella Tavola presente in parte si dimostrano due Colonne co’ loro Capitelli, Architrave, Fregio, e Cornice …, from Antichità Romane, volume II, plate XXIII
[1756]
Caption:
Nella Tavola presente in parte si dimostrano due Colonne co’ loro Capitelli, Architrave, Fregio, e Cornice; le quali stanno sotto agli Archi interni del Mausoleo di Costanza. La Colonna A è più sottile dell’altra, ed il Capitello, che le sta sopra, ha il diametro molto maggiore del vivo della Colonna. Per lo contrario il Capitello della Colonna B ha il diametro molto minore del vivo della medesima. Dal che si comprende essere stato fabbricato il Mausoleo [siccome ancora altre Fabbriche di que’ tempi] colle Spoglie d’altri edificj. Questi sí mal’adattati marmi, quantunque sembrino posti in opera con qualche avvertenza sí per sodezza maggiore della Fabbrica, si ancora per meno offender l’occhio, pur tuttavia non può negarsi, che non deturpino la Fabbrica, difettosa ancora notabilm.te in altre sue parti. Posciachè il vivo dell’Architrave C, e degli Archi D non corrisponde a quello delle Colonne. In oltre gli stessi Archi hanno la facciata, che gira secondo la circonferenza del Mausoleo. Eppure simili diffetti non solam.te sono stati presi per una bizzarra invenzione, ma scioccam.te imitati da taluni. E Base attica delle sudd.e Col.ne impernata, ed impiombata per mezo de’ buchi. F Mosaici di vario lavoro nella Volta dell’Ambulacro G. H Finestre antiche.
Piranesi Archit. dis. ed inc.
This print follows immediately after the elevation and section of the site (see TA[PRI]-GBP03-019) and is dedicated to some of the architectural elements to be seen inside the Mausoleum. Piranesi’s method here is to separate the elements from their context in order to highlight various points about dating and building technique. To do so he uses the visual appeal of a carefully composed arrangement of ruin fragments, as if the elements were themselves remnants rather than integral parts of a building that existed whole in his era, as it does in ours. This type of composition is very common in the prints of the Antichità Romane that deal with ancient fragments; but in those cases, unlike here, the remains are indeed fragmentary.
The caption serves to highlight the “faulty” architecture made up from some spolia pieces reused from ancient buildings. Mistakes made by scholars - not only by him - in the dating of the building within the mausoleum and cemetery complex are largely responsible for this negative narrative. The pair of columns which dominate the image are the focus for his comments, and the fact that their width differs from each other and from their respective capitals is criticised.
BSR: TA[PRI]-GBP03-020
Focillon no. 245
Wilton-Ely no. 380
Bibliography
Salinitro, C. (2014) in Mariani G. (ed.) Giambattista Piranesi: matrici incise, 1756-1757. Vol. 2. Milan: Mazzotta, no. 102, pp. 234-235
and
Istituto Centrale per la Grafica
Musso, L. (1979) ‘Mausoleo di Costanza’, in Piranesi nei Luoghi di Piranesi. Archeologia piranesiana: Orti Farnesiani. Roma: Multigrafica-F.lli Palombi, pp. 85-98
How to quote this page:
Nella Tavola presente in parte si dimostrano due Colonne co’ loro Capitelli, Architrave, Fregio, e Cornice …, from Antichità Romane, volume II, plate XXIII. Author(s) of this publication: Clare Hornsby. Publishing date: 12/06/2024 URL: https://ipervisions.digitalcollections.bsr.ac.uk/piranesi-project-may-2024/?slide=2 Date visited:
Spaccato per traverso della grand’Urna col suo Coperchio …, from Antichità Romane, volume II, plate XXV
[1756]
Caption:
A Spaccato per traverso della grand’Urna col suo Coperchio, scavato di dentro a simiglianza di una Volta a crociera. B Fianco della medesima, nel quale veggonsi intrecciate a grottesco due Viti con fronde, e grappoli di uva. Nel mezzo sonovi tre Genj alati con bolle d’oro al collo, i quali unitam.te stanno in atto di pestare co’ piedi l’uva, raccolta in un gran tino con testa di leone dinanzi dalla cui bocca forota si può supporre, che scorresse il mosto entro le grandi anfore di creta, che sono poste sotto allo stesso. La Maschera di Sileno, ed il Festone fregiano il lato al Coperchio, e corrispondono a quelle degli altri lati. Il Fianco opposto è simile in tutto al presente a riserba della Maschera di Bacco fanciullo, la quale abbiamo qui segnata C. D Altra Maschera di Baccante, situata nella parte di dietro. E Avanzo di Fregio di marmo, trovato tralle rovine. F Gran Candeliere di marmo, ornato di varj grotteschi, fogliami, e festoni, composti di fiori, e frutti. Il Piedestallo ha negli angoli di sopra tre teste di Ariete; in quei di sotto tre Sfingi formate in grottesco; siccome pure in grottesco sono i Genj delle facciate. Il lavoro è di eccellente Scalpello de’ tempi migliori, imitato nelle opere loro da que’ valentiss Professori del secolo decimo quinto, ed in oggi dagli Oltramontani indefessi investigatori dell’ottimo, cercasi tutto giorno di estrarne il modello. G Bolle d’oro fedelm.te copiate dal marmo in forma più grande.
In the catalogue entry for the Calcografia, Salinitro, referring to this and the front view of the sarcophagus that precedes it in the volume (pl. XXXIV, not in this exhibition), states that the print is not the work of Piranesi alone but that it was a collaboration with the French artist Jean Barbault. “Barbault scolpi le figure” is added to other plates such as pl. XXXV, the section through the sarcophagus of Alexander Severus. He was the only collaborator - either artist or scholar - to be credited by Piranesi. But it seems that here, and on the front view, Barbault’s name was crossed out.
In a similar way as in the Alexander Severus sarcophagus section, Piranesi shows elements that are part of the object in smaller images above the main view of its end. In this case, the previous designation of the building as temple to Bacchus leads him to focus on the bacchic decoration of the sarcophagus, with close-ups of the bacchante masks that are located on the sides of its cover. The necklaces seen on the putti trampling the grapes are highlighted in a graceful arrangement on a shelf to the left of the candelabrum. Much of the detail in this image is influenced by the work of previous antiquarians. Of particular importance to him were for example Roma Sotterranea by Antonio Bosio and De sacris aedificiis a Constantino Magno constructis by Ciampini.
The magnificent candelabrum - antique, on a sixteenth century tripod base - is now in the Vatican Museums (MV.2482.0.0), along with others made to match it that came from the adjacent basilica of S. Agnese. This print is a perfect example of the way that Piranesi blends material and textual details to both engage and inform, all the while creating a fascinatingly rich and innovative ensemble composition.
BSR: TA[PRI]-GBP02-021
Focillon no. 247
Wilton-Ely no. 382
Bibliography
Salinitro, C. (2014) in Mariani G. (ed.) Giambattista Piranesi: matrici incise, 1756-1757. Vol. 2. Milano: Mazzotta, no. 104, pp. 235-236
Istituto Centrale per la Grafica
Musso, L. (1979) ‘Mausoleo di Costanza’, in Piranesi nei Luoghi di Piranesi. Archeologia piranesiana: Orti Farnesiani. Roma: Multigrafica-F.lli Palombi, pp. 93-98
How to quote this page:
Spaccato per traverso della grand’Urna col suo Coperchio …, from Antichità Romane, volume II, plate XXV. Author(s) of this publication: Clare Hornsby. Publishing date: 12/06/2024 URL: https://ipervisions.digitalcollections.bsr.ac.uk/piranesi-project-may-2024/?silde=3 Date visited:
Frammento di stucco, cavato dalla Volta …, from Antichità Romane, volume III, plate XXX
[1756]
Caption:
A Framm.to di Stucco, cavato dalla Volta d’un de’ Nicchioni interni della Fabbr.ca sepolcrale vicino a Torre de’ Schiavi. Egli è diviso da Scompartimenti in basso rilievo formati di un Orlo, ornato di Fusarolli infilati con ordine. Dentro agli Scompartim.ti veggonsi a grottesco varie spezie d’Animali e de’ Fogliami. B Profilo della Modinatura degli Scompartim.ti. C Altri Scompartim.ti, i quali vedevansi gli anni passati nella Volta delle quattro Stanze angolari, oggi quasi affatto rovinate. Tale, e tanta è la varietà degli Ornam.ti nelle Fabbr.che posti dagli Antichi con gravità, e magnificenza, che sembra impossibile poter pensare cosa nuova in tal genere, et alle Fabbriche si bene, come essi, adattarla.
Piranesi Archit. dis. et inc.
In this print Piranesi offers a close study of a fragment of stucco that decorated the vault of an interior niche of a structure close to the so-called Torre de’ Schiavi on the Via Prenestina. The ruined complex had nothing to do with slaves (as the name implies), but rather referred to the dello Schiavo family who acquired the land in 1571 and built on top of the ancient ruins of the imperial villa of the Gordian family, whose members - Gordian I, Gordian II and Gordian III - had ruled the Roman world in the 3rd century AD. Although Piranesi identifies the structure as a “tomb”, the stucco decoration in fact came from the octagonal entrance hall to the villa complex. The niches of this hall were composed of rectangular sections - as per this fragment - in which circles of foliage with fantastical animals such as unicorns and griffins intersected. In the bottom part of the print, Piranesi includes several fragments of decorative elements from other rooms in the villa, which he states in the caption to now be almost totally ruined.
The elegance of the animals in this print, and the graceful, graduating tone of the print has been identified as the work of Piranesi’s collaborator in the Antichità Romane volumes, Jean Barbault, who he often turned to for lighter, more delicate renderings of both ornaments and figures.
BSR: TA[PRI]-GBP02-022
Focillon no. 252
Wilton-Ely no. 387
Bibliography
Garacci, M. (2014) in Mariani G. (ed.) Giambattista Piranesi: matrici incise, 1756-1757. Vol. 2. Milano: Mazzotta, no. 109, p. 240
Istituto Centrale per la Grafica
How to quote this page:
Frammento di stucco, cavato dalla Volta …, from Antichità Romane, volume III, plate XXX. Author(s) of this publication: Caroline Barron. Publishing date: 12/06/2024 URL: https://ipervisions.digitalcollections.bsr.ac.uk/piranesi-project-may-2024/?slide=4 Date visited:
Parte dell’antica Via Appia …, from Antichità Romane, volume III, plate III
[1756]
Caption:
Parte dell’antica Via Appia in distanza da Porta S. Sebastiano cinque miglia in circa oggi coperta dal terreno; ai lati della quale più che in altro luogo risplendeva la magnificenza Romana tanto ne’ pubblici edificj, quanto ne’ privati superbi sepolcri, quivi in copioso numero innalzati, siccome può congetturarsi agli Avanzi, che pur’anche si veggono, de’ quali ne abbiamo segnata quì semplicem.te la Pianta. A Situazione, ed Avanzo della Pianta del famoso pubblico Ustrino in cui abbruciavansi i corpi de i defonti fabbricato di alte, e grosse muraglie di Peperino, come in appresso sarà dimostrato. B Avanzi delle abitazioni, e stanze per li Custodi, e Ministri, i quali assistevano a’ roghi, al fuoco, e ad altri uffizj funebri, ed ancora per riporvi le legna di mirto, e di Cipresso con altre cose odorose, e gli stromenti necessarj all’Ustrino. C Avanzi de’ Portici, e d’altri luoghi, i quali per grande spazio dilungavansi dinanzi all’Ustrino, per dare ricovero tanto alle genti basse, quanto alle persone di miglior condizione respettivam.te le quali in gran numero tutto giorno quà accompagnavano i cadaveri de’ loro Parenti, o degli Amici, o de’ Padroni, ed assistevano al rogo de’ medesimi. D Situazione ed Avanzo della Pianta di una riguardevole Fabbrica, attorniata da molte rovine d’Acquedotti, Conserve, e d’altre comodità signorili. A’ più congetture, e per la vicinanza ella può considerarsi appartenente all’Ustrino, o per alloggiare le Famiglie più illustri, le quali per le dette pie funeree funzioni costà si conducevano; o per li Presidenti, o ‘l Magistrato, che invigilava al governo di questo Luogo. E Pianta della stessa Fabbrica in forma più grande. F Alzato dell’Avanzo sopra terra della medesima. G Spaccato dell’Avanzo. H Capitello, ed altri Framm.ti di Colonne quivi ritrovati. I Imposta, lavorata di mattoni sotto agli Archi dinanzi all’Ustrino. K Pavimenti composti di calce, e minute scaglie di marmo.
Piranesi Archit. dis et inc.
This intriguing plate is one of a series of four focussing on the “antico Ustrino” [a sacred enclosure in which pyres were built to cremate bodies of the dead] at the V mile of the Appia, on the right hand side, opposite S. Maria Nova (nos III-VI). In fact the first nine plates of this volume relate to the area on the Appia outside Porta S Sebastiano and are introduced by plate II - the extraordinary fantasy view of what he calls “circus of Mars”. (Another plate in this collection, TA[PRI]-GBP02-017 the Frontispiece to Volume II, is also a fantasy view of the initial stretch of the Appia).
Here, Piranesi turns away from a mixture of invention and exaggeration to focus on technical details, while maintaining an artistic freedom in layout that is peculiar to him. The largest part of the image is set out as a fictive sheet of paper hanging from two pins and with edges curling up. This conceit is used in some of the maps in the first volume of the Antichità Romane while others use the “carved in stone” imagery that connects so closely with the Forma Urbis ancient plan of the city carved on marble panels. The “sheet of paper” idea is clearly a reminiscence of the appearance of the small Nolli map, to which Piranesi has contributed two drawings, as well as the large version Nolli produced in 1748. Other Ustrinum plates contain further technical architectural analyses and end with a magnificent view of the site, pl. VI, see TA[PRI]-GBP04-034.
This stretch of the via Appia had received much antiquarian attention in previous generations; there are Pirro Ligorio drawings of the Ustrinum and of the nearby tombs, supposedly of the Orazi and Curazi; also Raphaele Fabretti had excavated it, giving its measurements in his book on inscriptions “as a rectangle three hundred and forty feet long, and two hundred feet wide, enclosed by a wall thirteen feet high”. Piranesi often used these two scholars as sources, usually without crediting them. Fabretti included a drawing of the stonework wall which is interesting to compare with the next plate in the Antichità Romane volume, pl. IV and also with a photograph taken by Thomas Ashby in 1897-8 when part of the structure was still standing.
BSR: TA[PRI]-GBP05-033
Focillon no. 288
Wilton-Ely no. 423
Bibliography
Fabretti, R. (1699) Raphaelis Fabretti Gasparis f. Urbinatis Inscriptionum antiquarum quae in aedibus paternis asservantur explicatio et additamentum vna cum aliquot emendationibus gruterianis & indice rerum, & verborum memorabilium. Romae: ex officina Dominici Antonii Herculis, vol. 1, pp. 230-231
Scaloni, G. (2014) in Mariani G. (ed.) Giambattista Piranesi: matrici incise, 1756-1757. Vol. 2, Milano: Mazzotta, no. 145, pp. 314-315
and
Istituto Centrale per la Grafica
Bevilacqua, M. (2021) ‘Piranesi e la Via Appia’, in Salvagni, I. and Fratarcangeli, M. (eds.) Oltre Roma nei Colli Albani e Prenestini al tempo del Grand Tour. Roma: De Luca, pp. 152-162
Scaloni, G. (2023) ‘Piranesi sulla Via Appia: dai modelli antichi al valore civile delle opere per la pubblica utilità’ in Regina Viarum, la Via Appia nella grafica tra Cinquecento e Novecento. Milano: Cimorelli, pp. 44-58
Rausa, F. (1997) Pirro Ligorio, tombe e mausolei dei Romani. Roma: Quasar, pp. 41-42
Marcelli, M. (2003) in Le Pera Buranelli, S., Turchetti, R. (eds.) Sulla Via Appia da Roma a Brindisi: le fotografie di Thomas Ashby, 1891-1925. Roma: “Erma” di Bretschneider, no. 12, p. 56, photo neg. no. 742
How to quote this page:
Parte dell’antica Via Appia …, from Antichità Romane, volume III, plate III. Author(s) of this publication: Clare Hornsby. Publishing date: 12/06/2024 URL: https://ipervisions.digitalcollections.bsr.ac.uk/piranesi-project-may-2024/?slide=5 Date visited:
Frammenti della Camera sepolcrale dirimpetto alla Chiesa di S. Sebast.o fuori delle mura, from Antichità Romane, volume II, plate XLV
[1756]
Caption:
A Selci dritti, e rovescj della Via Appia ritrovati tralle rovine. B Urna di marmo adorna di varj ornam.ti. Veggonsi de’ Genj alati con corone di nespole pendenti al collo, portare de’ Festoni intrecciati di frutti, e frondi, tenendo in mano de’ rami di quercia, e de’ canestrelli, ripieni di frutti. Veggonsi due Fiaccole ardenti, animali quadrupedi, e volatili di varia specie, simboli delle mondane vicende. Sopra de’ Festoni vi sono scolpiti due Busti, cioè marito, e moglie, i quali hanno la faccia non terminata, forse per le medesime ragioni in altro consimile Sarcofago accennate. Ne’ fianchi sopra de’ Festoni stanno collocate quattro maschere sceniche, colle quali solevano gli antichi significare lo stato variabile, e caduco della vita umana. C Sarcofago striato di marmo. D Orecchino tutto d’oro ritrovato con altri simili dentro l’Urne. Notasi che questi Orecchini hanno il cerchio di un solo pezzo, che non si apre. E Stipite di travertino della parte superiore di una Porta. Osservansi due buchi rotondi rozzi, e poco profondi, i quali probabilmente doveano essere foderati di metallo, acciò dentro di essi potessero comodam.te girare i perni della Porta. F Scalino di marmo, gentilmente lavorato a strie. G Freggio lavorato a grottesco, ed in molti compartim.ti distribuito tra quali sonovi espresse Patere di vario diligente lavoro intagliate, Teschj di bove, ornati di fettuccie, e di piccole ossa di giunture infilate, e poste a guisa di festone.
Piranesi Archit.o dis. ed inc.
Barbault scolpì le Fig.e
In volume II of the Antichità Romane, Piranesi documents some of the funerary monuments of Rome; this print is taken from a sequence concerned with the remains of a tomb structure opposite the Basilica of S. Sebastiano fuori le mura on the via Appia, close to the monumental Tomb of Caecilia Metella. The ruins of this funerary monument yielded several finds, which Piranesi records in this and the following plate (no. XLVI). As is typical of Piranesi in the Antichità Romane, he arranges the finds as though displayed on steps in a kind of visual field report, playing with the scale of the objects and mixing the seemingly mundane with items of greater aesthetic significance. For example, an ornately carved sarcophagus is placed on the top shelf; it is sculpted with three winged geniuses who carry garlands, above which are the portraits of two togate figures, perhaps portraits of the married couple whose remains the sarcophagus contained. The sarcophagus has been reduced in size to the extent that it is dwarfed by the pieces of flint from the ruins that are propped up on either side of it. On the middle shelf Piranesi has depicted another sarcophagus, with striated decoration and a blank tabula ansata, or inscription panel, on the front. It has again been reduced in size, the extent of which becomes clear when we understand that the circular object next to it, labelled D, is a gold earring, examples of which had been found in the funerary monuments from the site. Alongside the sarcophagus and the earring Piranesi presents a door jamb - this might seem prosaic in contrast with the finely ornamented objects thus far presented, but it offers Piranesi the opportunity to make a comment about the mechanics of how it worked, noting the remains of metal within the circular holes which facilitated smoother movement. This kind of detail is present throughout the plates of the Antichità Romane and is indicative of Piranesi’s fascination not only for the ornament and detail of the antiquities that were coming out of the excavations around him, but also for the logistical aspects of their function. By playing with the scale of these objects in the print, Piranesi elevated the status of otherwise commonplace objects such as door jambs, and the ornamental step visible in the bottom left, to one equivalent with those of more obviously pleasing aesthetic quality.
BSR: TA[PRI]-GBP05-027
Focillon no. 267
Wilton-Ely no. 402
Bibliography
Garacci, M. (2014) in Mariani G. (ed.) Giambattista Piranesi: matrici incise, 1756-1757. Vol. 2. Milano: Mazzotta, no. 124 pp. 253-255
Istituto Centrale per la Grafica
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Frammenti della Camera sepolcrale dirimpetto alla Chiesa di S. Sebast.o fuori delle mura, from Antichità Romane, volume II, plate XLV. Author(s) of this publication: Caroline Barron. Publishing date: 12/06/2024 URL: https://ipervisions.digitalcollections.bsr.ac.uk/piranesi-project-may-2024/?slide=6 Date visited:
Framm.ti della Camera sepolcrale dirimpetto alla Chiesa di S. Sebast.no fuor delle mura, from Antichità Romane, volume II, plate XLVI
[1756]
Caption:
A Avanzo d’una Iscrizione. B Pitture dipinte sull’intonacatura delle pareti, colorite di buona maniera e trasparente, ma però molto difettose nel disegno, e per conseguenza possono supporsi fatte ne’ secoli inferiori. Esse rappresentavano diverse Caccie di Animali feroci, poichè ne’ Pezzi qui riportati, come i più conservati, e visibili vedesi un’Etiope a Cavallo in atto di ferire un Pardo, che a tutto corso si getta ad assalirlo; vedesi ancora un Leone, che afferra coll’ugne, e colle zanne la Schiena del Cavallo di un’altro Cacciatore. C Pezzo di Cornice di travertino ritrovata tra le macerie della Stanza. D Fianco semicircolare dimostrato più in grande di un’Urna di marmo, la quale si è già descritta nelle precedenti Tavole. Scorgonsi scolpiti in esso, come ancora nell’altro Fianco opposto un Festone di frutti, e frondi, due Maschere sceniche, ed alcuni Animali, il cui significato abbiamo accennato in altro luogo. E Parte di un’altra Iscrizione. F Framm.to di un Pilo sepolcrale. G Frammenti di Medaglie, e di Anelli corrosi dalla ruggine, con altri piccoli pezzi di Cammei, trovati dentro le Olle. H Una di quelle Basi con fusto di Colonna annesso delle quali si è fatta menzione nelle Tavole antecedenti.
Piranesi Archit. dis. ed inc.
Barbault scolpì le Figure
In this plate Piranesi continues his documentation of the archaeological finds from the ruins of a sepulchral monument opposite the church of S. Sebastiano fuori le mura on the via Appia. In the caption of another print, showing the plan of the tomb (pl. XLIII) he states that he was present during its excavation in 1750, during which time he made the plan and recorded the finds from it. The main focus of this print, according to the accompanying caption, are the remains of some ancient paintings (labelled B) from inside the tomb; Piranesi describes them as being from the “low times”, meaning late antiquity, due to their “defective design” but their subject matter clearly left some impression, given their dynamic representation in this print. The fragments depict an animal hunt; in the top fragment a hunter on horseback is wounding a leopard, and in the lower fragment a lion can be seen grasping the back of another hunter’s horse with its claws and bared teeth.
However, most interesting in this print are the two inscriptions. Both are fragmentary, with their texts incomplete. Both are intended to be funerary monuments for individuals and their extended households, given the references to their freedmen, freedwomen and descendents. It appears that Piranesi has invented both texts; neither one is recorded in vol. 6 of the Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum - the publication that collected all known Latin inscriptions from the city of Rome - and both have misspelt words and names, such as Flavla, for Flavia, in the larger fragment, and exuperaniae for exsuperantiae in the smaller fragment at the top of the print. It is clear that the site had yielded many inscriptions; Mazzocchi’s Epigrammata of 1521 (p. CLXXIII) gives the texts of 13 inscriptions from the area of S. Sebastiano, and Flavio Vacca’s Memorie of 1594 (n. 82) details many finds, but it seems that by the time Piranesi witnessed the excavation taking place in 1750, the inscriptions had been removed and deposited elsewhere (some today can be found in the Musei Capitolini). The motivation for inventing these texts may have been Piranesi’s desire to give his audience a more thorough picture of the excavation and the kind of finds that had come from it; as fine inscriptions were known to have been found there, his inclusion of fragmentary texts completed - in a visual sense - what was known about the tomb, even if the texts themselves were not authentic records of the inscriptions that had been excavated. The volumes of Antichità Romane were full of genuine inscriptions, meaning Piranesi had material from which to draw to suggest plausible texts that communicated something meaningful about the funerary monument and the kinds of people whose remains were interred within.
BSR no. TA[PRI]-GBP05-028
Focillon no. 268
Wilton-Ely no. 403
Bibliography
Canina, L. (1853) La prima parte della Via Appia dalla Porta Capena a Boville, p. 76-77
Garacci, M. (2014) in Mariani G. (ed.) Giambattista Piranesi: matrici incise, 1756-1757. Vol. 2. Milano: Mazzotta, no. 125, pp. 254-255
Mazzocchi, G (1521), Epigrammata, p. CLXXIII
Vacca, F. (1594), Memorie di varie antichità trovate in diversi luoghi della città di Roma nell’anno 1594, Roma, n. 82
Istituto Centrale per la Grafica
Istituto Centrale per la Grafica
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Framm.ti della Camera sepolcrale dirimpetto alla Chiesa di S. Sebast.no fuor delle mura, from Antichità Romane, volume II, plate XLVI. Author(s) of this publication: Caroline Barron. Publishing date: 12/06/2024 URL: https://ipervisions.digitalcollections.bsr.ac.uk/piranesi-project-may-2024/?slide=7 Date visited:
Frammenti delle Camere sepolcrali de’ Liberti, e Servi ec. della Famiglia di Aug.sto, from Antichità Romane, volume III, plate XXIX
[1756]
Caption (printed upside down):
A Marchio di Tavolone di terra cotta di quei, che coprivano i Sarcofaghi. B Avanzi di un’Urna, negli Angoli della quale si veggono due Genj alati in atto di dormire sopra le loro fiaccole rivoltate all’ingiù in segno di mestizia, tenendo delle corone in mano. Con questi solevano gli Antichi rappresentare la morte, la quale è un sonno perpetuo. C Altro framm.to, in cui apparisce scolpita parte di una Vittoria alata. D In questo, che segue, osservasi una Sace[r]dotessa in abito sacro coi capelli sciolti, e col capo cinto di Diadema. Sta essa in figura di sagrificare a’ Dei Infernali versando col simpuvio, o sia calice di legno, le Libazioni sopra le ceneri de’ defonti. E Pezzo di Mosaico rappresentante nel mezzo alcuni pesci. F Mattonato di tufi con parte dell’archetto de’ Colombaj. G Framm.to di marmo, ove mirasi un Carro, tirato da due Bovi col giogo al collo, e seguito da un cane, e da un villanello. H Pezzo di facciata d’Urna: nel mezzo evvi uno scudo con l’imagine di un giovane, il quale viene portato per l’oceano agli Elisj, accompagnato da Tritoni, e Ninfe, e da altre Deità marine, che suonando festeggiano. I In questo framm.to di sarcofago ravvisansi de’ giovani, che si ese[r]citavano ne’ giuochi Ginnastici colla loro Deità tutelare, e le palme destinate in premio a’ vincitori. K Chiodi, e Lamine per fermare le Iscriz.ni L Pezzo di marmo bucato, per cui spruzzavansi le cen.ri di Libaz.ni.
Piranesi Architetto dis. ed inc.
Barbault scolpì le figure
This print is one of a series made by Piranesi to illustrate the excavation of the Columbarium of the Freedmen of Livia (or as Piranesi calls it here, the Columbarium of the Household of Augustus) that had taken place in 1726. The excavation had resulted in hundreds of inscriptions, which revealed for the first time the complex social hierarchy of the imperial household and its enslaved population. The architecture of the columbarium had been recorded in prints by Girolamo Rossi, who had been commissioned by the antiquarian Francesco Bianchini, who led the excavation and was the first to publish its findings. The removal of the inscriptions from the site destroyed the fabric of the columbarium, so that little of its structure had survived by just two decades later. For this reason, Piranesi reproduced some of Rossi’s prints of the interior in order to introduce the inscriptions and other finds. Like plate XXVII, this print depicts several sculpted fragments of varying size and ornament. Piranesi has manipulated their scale, in order to give greater prominence to some of the more common-place objects such as the enlarged brickstamp from a sarcophagus cover in the top left of the print, and the metal pins for securing inscriptions to the walls that are labelled K and can be seen on the bottom shelf of finds. There are several fine pieces of figured relief, such as the portrait of a Priestess in a sacred dress in the centre; her hair is loosely bound with a diadem, as she pours a libation to the gods over the ashes of the deceased. Other reliefs are also associated with the Underworld, such as the two-winged genii on the ash chest in the top right of the print, whose torches are turned down towards the ground indicating a state of perpetual sleep.
BSR no. TA[PRI]-GBP05-036
Focillon no. 311
Wilton-Ely no. 444
Bibliography
Garacci, M. (2014) in Mariani G. (ed.) Giambattista Piranesi: matrici incise, 1756-1757. Vol. 2. Milano: Mazzotta, no. 171, pp. 334-336
Istituto Centrale per la Grafica
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Frammenti delle Camere sepolcrali de’ Liberti, e Servi ec. della Famiglia di Aug.sto, from Antichità Romane, volume III, plate XXIX. Author(s) of this publication: Caroline Barron. Publishing date: 12/06/2024 URL: https://ipervisions.digitalcollections.bsr.ac.uk/piranesi-project-may-2024/?slide=8 Date visited:
Iscrizioni de’ liberti, e Servi della Famiglia di Augusto, from Antichità Romane, volume III, plate XXX
[1756]
Caption;
A Iscrizioni de’ Liberti, e Servi della Famiglia di Augusto. B Urna di marmo nella cui parte dinanzi vedesi uno scudo con mezza figura, o sia ritratto, in basso rilievo, la faccia del quale apparisce accennata solamente dallo scalpello. Ella è per avventura di quell’Urne, che si preparavano dagli scultori a pubblica richiesta, i quali lasciavano soltanto indicate le maschere delle figure, per poterle poi terminare secondo i lineamenti della faccia dei defonti, che in quelle doveansi riporre. Le quali tal volta non si terminavano per qualche insorto accidente, come in questa è accaduto, e in molte altre, che sono state ritrovate di simil fatta. C Urna con divisione nel mezzo per collocarvi separatam.te le ceneri di due corpi. D Sarcofago di terra cotta, ritrovato nella prima Stanza con dentro lo scheletro, orecchini, medaglie, et anello. E Tavoloni di cotto, i quali sul piano cuoprivano de’ cranj, e delle ossa de’ Servi, e d’altri della più bassa famiglia. F Pezzo di Basso-rilievo di marmo con maschera di Bacco, con una Fistula, ed altro istromento pastorale. G Tavoloni lavorati nella parte di sopra di mosaico, da quali erano coperti i Sarcofaghi. H Altri Sarcofaghi cogli scheletri, Olle ripiene di ceneri, e d’ossa, ritrovate sotto il pavimento delle Camere. Le sopra segnate Iscrizioni, e quelle ancora delle Tavole seguenti delle Cam.re sepolc.li de’ Liberti, e Servi, ec. si conservano nel Museo di Campidoglio.
Piranesi Architetto dis. ed inc.
In this print Piranesi continues his documentation of the finds that came from the excavation of the Columbarium of the Freedmen of Livia in 1726. The excavation, directed and first published by Francesco Bianchini in the same year, had yielded hundreds of inscriptions recording the epitaphs of the enslaved and freed population of the imperial household on the Palatine Hill. The inscriptions had been acquired by Cardinal Alessandro Albani shortly after their excavation, and he later donated them to the newly-established Musei Capitolini, where Piranesi had seen them built into the walls of the first floor of the Palazzo de’ Conservatori. Piranesi recorded the texts of these inscriptions assiduously in the following plates, presenting them in linear arrangements and built into the walls as they were in the Museum’s display. However, he does not appear to have copied their texts directly; comparisons with photographs of the inscriptions today show some differences of lettering and in Piranesi’s prints there is a greater regularity in the shape of the marble plaques on which they were inscribed. Piranesi’s source for the inscriptions seems to have been the 1731 publication of the site’s finds by Pier Leone Ghezzi, the Camere sepolcrali de liberti e liberte di Livia Augusta ed’ altri cesari: come anche altri sepolcri ultimamente ritrovati fuori della Porta Capena. Comparison with Ghezzi’s plates of the inscriptions reveals that the form of the plaques and their lettering is almost identical in Piranesi’s representations, indicating he has selected them from that publication rather than by direct autopsy of the stones. This is further confirmed by the other objects in the print; the striated sarcophagus labelled B, on the left of the print, with a portrait relief within a roundel also appears in Ghezzi (Tav. VIII). Piranesi expands upon this portrait in the caption, suggesting that it is an example of an unfinished portrait, roughed-out by a stonemason’s workshop in advance of its sale and personalisation to the individual buyer.
The foreground of the print is littered with other remains of funerary vessels, in a typically Piranesian arrangement that calls to mind both the rich variety of Roman decorative forms and also the magnitude of archaeological endeavour involved in excavating and documenting the columbarium. The sarcophagus in the centre right of the print, propped up vertically and containing a skeleton, is a further indication of Piranesi’s familiarity with the antiquarian literature of the period; Bianchini had recorded the presence of larger tomb spaces and monuments intended for bodies that were not cremated. Piranesi goes one step further by including a visual depiction of this fact, imbuing the print with a romantic sense of the measure of time that separated his own day from antiquity.
BSR no. TA[PRI]-GBP06-037
Focillon no. 312
Wilton-Ely no. 445
Bibliography
Barron, C. (2021). ‘Cardinal Alessandro Albani’s epigraphic collections and their influence on collecting in the eighteenth century’ in Cardinal Alessandro Albani. Collezionismo, diplomazia e mercato nell’Europa del Grand Tour - Collecting, dealing and diplomacy in Grand Tour Europe. Studi sul Settecento Romano, 37, Roma: Quasar, pp. 185-200
Bianchini, F. (1726) Camera ed inscrizioni sepulcrali de’ liberti, servi, ed ufficiali della casa di Augusto scoperte nella via Appia, ed illustrate con le annotazioni, Roma: appresso G.M. Salvioni
Garacci, M. (2014) in Mariani G. (ed.) Giambattista Piranesi: matrici incise, 1756-1757. Vol. 2. Milano: Mazzotta, no. 172, p. 335
Ghezzi, P.L. (1731) Camere sepolcrali de liberti e liberte di Livia Augusta ed’altri cesari: come anche altri sepolcri ultimamente ritrovati fuori della Porta Capena, Roma: nella Stamperia del Sud.o de Rossi
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Iscrizioni de’ liberti, e Servi della Famiglia di Augusto, from Antichità Romane, volume III, plate XXX. Author(s) of this publication: Caroline Barron. Publishing date: 12/06/2024 URL: https://ipervisions.digitalcollections.bsr.ac.uk/piranesi-project-may-2024/?slide=9 Date visited:
Urna di marmo col suo Coperchio ritrovata dentro al Mausoleo di Cecilia Metella …, from Antichità Romane, volume III, plate LII
[1756]
Caption:
A Urna di marmo col suo Coperchio ritrovata dentro al Mausoleo di Cecilia Metella nel Pontificato di Paolo III. ed in oggi esistente nel Cortile del Palazzo Farnese. Abbiamo voluto farne quì una particolare dimostrazione di tutte le sue Parti in grande; posciache da queste gli Architetti passati, e spezialmente Michelagnolo Buonarota, cavarono molte nuove e bizzarre invenzioni, colle quali ornarono le loro Opere di Architettura. Quest’Urna è rimarcabile per la sua forma, e per li suoi capricciosi Ornamenti a grottesco, i quali possono per avventura tollerarsi usati in simile suggetto, ma non però nelle publiche nobili Fabbriche, siccome con ragione se ne querela Vitruv.o di un tal abuso introdotto a suoi giorni ne’ più gravi maestosi edifizj. B Linea, la quale dimostra la separazione del Coperchio. C Fastigj, o Frontispizj tortuosi nella parte super.e tutto all’intorno. D Rottura fatta da Cavatori per ansia di trovarvi dentro qualche Tesoro. Fuvi trovato un Vaso d’Oro massiccio colle Ceneri, et un Drappo d’Oro tessuto. E Pianta dell’Urna. F Spaccato. G Modinatura composta di linee retticurve, imitata da moderni Professori. H Modinatura della Base. I Vaso d’Oro massiccio, il quale conteneva le Ceneri. K Grottesco di Fogliami, et Animali nella parte super.e del Coperchio. L Fregio a grottesco co’ sue Gole intagliate nella parte inferiore del med.o M Porzione del dinanzi dell’Urna, scolpita a strie, dalle quali nasce, e rilieva una Testa di Cavallo. N Bastone della Base intagliato di Fascie intrecciate regolatam.te e tramezzate da perni. O Gola della Base lavora[ta] a foglie d’ulivo, e fusarolli tutta all’intorno.
Piranesi Archit. dis. et inc.
In this print Piranesi depicts some fragments of architectural decoration from an urn found within the Tomb of Caecilia Metella, at the third mile of the via Appia. Dating to the early imperial period the tomb was built between 30 and 10 BC, for an elite woman, Caecilia Metella, who is named in the large funerary inscription walled on the top of the mausoleum. She came from a wealthy and important political family, by both birth and marriage, which is implied by the scale and ornament of her funerary monument.
Piranesi notes in the caption that this urn was especially important due to its influence on architects and sculptors since its discovery in the mid-16th century, and particularly on Michelangelo, who used it to innovate “new and bizarre inventions” in his work. The full form of the urn appears in the top left of the print, in much reduced form, with the majority of the image focusing on enlarged aspects of its decoration. Piranesi notes the damage done to the front of the urn by treasure-hunters, who found a solid gold vase - depicted in the top right and labelled I - containing ashes inside.
The fragments labelled K (in the bottom part of the print) and L (in the centre-right) are decorative friezes from the lid. In K we see interweaving foliage and animals, such as lions and deer; in L a geometric pattern with alternating circular forms set within squares. The deliberate reduction of the size of the whole object and the focus on decorative detail is typical of Piranesi’s interest in these monuments, which extended beyond function and material to consider the rich variety of all of an artefact’s component parts. The inspiration these details had given to a figure such as Michelangelo - whom Piranesi associates here with architecture, rather than sculpture - was further justification for the attention he paid to these ornaments in the volumes of the Antichità Romane.
BSR no. TA[PRI]-GBP06-043
Focillon no. 334
Wilton-Ely no. 467
Bibliography
Garacci, M. (2014) in Mariani G. (ed.) Giambattista Piranesi: matrici incise, 1756-1757. Vol. 2. Milano: Mazzotta, no. 195, pp. 349-350
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Urna di marmo col suo Coperchio ritrovata dentro al Mausoleo di Cecilia Metella …, from Antichità Romane, volume III, plate LII. Author(s) of this publication: Caroline Barron. Publishing date: 12/06/2024 URL: https://ipervisions.digitalcollections.bsr.ac.uk/piranesi-project-may-2024/?slide=10 Date visited:
Uno delli due Dadi fatti a guisa di Piedestallo in tutto simili …, from Antichità Romane, volume III, plate XLII
[1756]
Caption:
A Uno delli due Dadi fatti a guisa di Piedestallo in tutto simili, i quali esistono nel Museo Capitolino, trovati in tempo di Alessandro VII. nello scavo, che si fece allora dintorno alla Piramide. B Framm.ti di una Statua colossale di metallo ivi parim.te ritrovati. C Bassamento di Travertino composto di due corsi a foggia di Zoccolo, sopra il quale posa la Piramide. Giace ora sotto il terreno. D Framm.ti di Colonne striate colle Basi loro, et un Bassamento sotto alle medesime ritrovato, e lasciato nella maniera, che si vede presentem.te. E Capitelli veduti in varj aspetti disegnati in forma più grande di quella delle Colonne, affinche meglio si distinguino le parti loro. F Colonne formate de’ suddetti framm.ti, et innalzate nel tempo del det.o ristauro della Piramide. G Veduta della facciata della Piramide dalla parte di Ponente. H Mura di Roma.
Piranesi Archit. dis. ed inc.
The focus of this print is one of two inscriptions that were set up close to the Pyramid of Caius Cestius. Both inscriptions record a dedication to the deceased as well as the setting up of statues by his five heirs, who are each named in the first four lines of the text, and by his brother, Lucius Cestius. The inscriptions were on pedestals that served as statue bases for two bronze statues, which - according to the texts of the inscriptions - were set up using funds from the sale of some fine fabrics, which they were not permitted to place within the tomb due to an aedile’s edict, and which dated no later than 12 BC. The inscriptions were excavated in 1660, following the instructions of Pope Alexander VII, who had ordered that the corner where the pyramid met the Aurelian city walls be extensively searched. Following their discovery, both inscriptions were set up in the pontifical gardens on the Quirinal, and were later removed to the Musei Capitolini, where they remain today.
The slope of the pyramid itself is visible in the background of the print, along with two columns that Piranesi notes were re-erected from fragments following the excavation of the pyramid. The funerary structure had been built for the praetor Caius Cestius between 18-12 BC, in the new Egyptianising fashion that prevailed in Roman building practice and ornamentation following the Battle of Actium in 31 BC. In the foreground of the print Piranesi has depicted the fragmentary arm and foot of the bronze statue that once stood on top of the column (although only traces of such survived in 1660). Fragments of column bases blend into the foliage of the darkest parts of the print’s foreground; the result is an image in which the text of the inscription is dominant, but which is well-situated in the broader context of the tomb complex, whose presence is suggested in the background.
BSR no. TA[PRI]-GBP06-038
Focillon no. 324
Wilton-Ely no. 457
Bibliography
CIL VI, 1375
Gordon, A.E. (1958-1965) Album of dated Latin inscriptions, Berkeley, University of California Press, pp. 34-35
Salinitro, C. (2014) in Mariani G. (ed.) Giambattista Piranesi Matrici incise, 1756-1757. Vol. 2. Milano: Mazzotta, no. 185, pp. 342-343
Istituto Centrale per la Grafica
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Uno delli due Dadi fatti a guisa di Piedestallo in tutto simili …, from Antichità Romane, volume III, plate XLII. Author(s) of this publication: Caroline Barron. Publishing date: 12/06/2024 URL: https://ipervisions.digitalcollections.bsr.ac.uk/piranesi-project-may-2024/?slide=11 Date visited:
Pianta del Mausoleo di Ottaviano Augusto…, from Antichità Romane, volume II, plate LXI
[1756]
Caption:
Pianta del Mausoleo di Ottaviano Augusto, rintracciata dagli Avanzi, che per anche esistono sopra terra, i quali abbiamo segnati con linee più grosse, per distinguerli da quanto si è aggiunto per supplimento sulla traccia de’ medesimi. A Ingresso del Mausoleo. B Centro con Scale per mezzo delle quali ascendevasi a diversi piani superiori. C Varj ordini di Stanze angolari, e rotonde per uso de’ Sepolcri. D Obelisci piantati dinanzi alla Mole, uno de’ quali sta innalzato in oggi dietro la Chiesa di S. Maria Maggiore. Ora il sito di questa rinomatissima Fabbrica è occupato in gran parte dal Palazzo, e dal Giardino del Marchese Corèa; ove si veggono i predetti Avanzi. E Muro fabbricato di scaglie di selce, ed anticam.te vestito di travertini, come si dirà in appresso.
Piranesi Archit. dis. et inc.
Volume II of the Antichità Romane ends with a series of plates concerned with the Mausoleum of Augustus. This - a plan of the structure - is the first and is described in the caption as having been traced from the remaining structure above ground, which Piranesi has indicated by the use of thicker, darker lines. The majority of the plan, indeed the entire exterior cylinder, has been “supplemented” by Piranesi, using descriptions of the structure and earlier antiquarian publications, such as that of Bellori and Pietro Santo Bartoli, to inform how the arrangement of the space might have worked.
The construction of the Mausoleum began in 28 BC following Octavian’s victory at the Battle of Actium. Situated on the northern edge of the Campus Martius, it was designed to contain the remains of the new Julio-Claudian dynasty intended by Octavian’s victory, although many members were interred there long before Octavian - who was later awarded the title Augustus - himself died in 14 AD. Piranesi suggests that the remains of these family members were interred in a series of rooms, which were organised within concentric circles, access to the upper levels of which was reached by a staircase at the centre (B). Piranesi notes the obelisks (D) that flanked the entrance way, one of which had been moved to behind the Basilica of S. Maria Maggiore by Piranesi’s day. The plan is an excellent example of where Piranesi’s interest in archaeology and architecture intersected; he used his architectural training to make sense of the traces of what remained in the archaeology, and offered a plausible - if creative - reconstruction of what was missing.
BSR no. TA[PRI]-GBP03-030
Focillon no. 283
Wilton-Ely no. 418
Bibliography
Salinitro, C. (2014) in Mariani G. (ed.) Giambattista Piranesi: matrici incise, 1756-1757. Vol. 2. Milano: Mazzotta, no. 140, pp. 264-265
Istituto Centrale per la Grafica
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Pianta del Mausoleo di Ottaviano Augusto…, from Antichità Romane, volume II, plate LXI. Author(s) of this publication: Caroline Barron. Publishing date: 12/06/2024 URL: https://ipervisions.digitalcollections.bsr.ac.uk/piranesi-project-may-2024/?slide=12 Date visited:
Pianta, ed Elevazione del Ponte, oggi detto Quattro Capi …, from Antichità Romane, volume IV, plate XVIII
[1756]
Caption:
Dimostransi nella Tav.a presente la Pianta, ed elevazione del Ponte, oggi detto Quattro Capi. Egli è antichissimo, e chiamavasi Fabrizio da L. Fabrizio Presid.e delle Strade, che lo fabbricò nel fine della Repubblica. Augusto poi coll’occasione, che fece ripurgare il letto al Tevere, lo fortificò maggiorm.te sotto il Consolato di M. Lolio, e q. Lepido l’Anno vigesimo terzo del suo Imperio, e quaranta quattro dopo la di lui edificazione. A. Pianta. B. Sperone, il quale sopravanza in C. dai lati degli Archi D, aggiunto dai detti Consoli. E. Nuovi Ripari, fatti da Consoli, i quali si uniscono alle Ripe F; e sono soprapposti ai lati degli Archi del Ponte. G. Elevazione. H. Archi, i quali servono per iscarico delle inondazioni. I. Sino a questo segno parte del Ponte, e degli Archetti resta interrata nelle moderne Ripe. K. Spaccato delle Ripe a linea de’ Ripari soprapposti, i quali cingono il Peduzzo dell’Arco da ambe le parti. L. Livello dell’acqua in tempo di Agosto. M. Letto moderno. Notasi che in questo sito il Letto e mutabile, poiche le escrescenze de ogni anno ora vi portano dell’arena ora ve la levano. N. Letto antico ricoperto di rovine. O. Modinature de Capitelli dell’Arco di mezzo co[n] ‘sua Cornice, e Restremazione del Pilastro P, e Larghezza dello stesso da piede Q, il quale posa senza base. R. Travertino situato nel di sopra dello Sperone in S; la cui Testata T. esce in fuori. I Lati del medesimo sono guarniti de buchi per li Perni, e connettono internam.te colle altre Pietre dello Sperone. V. Foro nell’angolo esterno fatto a bella posta per legarvi le Barche. Altri simili si veggono quivi, ed in altri Ponti. 1. Chiesa di S. Bartolomeo all’Isola. 2. Ponte Rotto. 3. Tempio di Cibele, ora di S. Maria del Sole. 4. Campanile di S. Maria in Cosmedin. 5. Rovine del Teatro di Marcello.
Piranesi Archit. dis. ed inc.
Piranesi proceeds in a logical fashion at the opening of this fourth volume, subtitled CONTENENTI I PONTI ANTICHI GLI AVANZI DE’ TEATRI DE’ PORTICI E DI ALTRI MONVMENTI DI ROMA. The first group of plates (IV-XXXVII) concern the bridges, moving downstream from the Ponte S. Angelo and the adjacent Mausoleo di Adriano to the Ponte Trionfale. The set of five plates for the Ponte Quattro Capi (the modern name is Ponte Fabricio) is prefaced by a small map showing the Tiber Island and the locations of the two bridges that link it to both riverbanks (plate XIV). The Trastevere side bridge - the Ponte Ferrato (modern name Ponte Cestio) - follows the analysis of the Ponte Quattro Capi and has four plates dedicated to it.
This set of plates begins with a view of the bridge that is alike to no. TA[PRI]-GBP17-127 of the Castel S. Angelo as being both a topographical and an archaeological document. The present plate is the third and presents the viewer with a complex arrangement: drawing in plan of the central support of the bridge and those on the banks, enlarged diagrammatic details with analysis of architectural elements of the structure, a sectional drawing through the foundations on either bank and of riverbed littered with “rovine” (as he did in TA[PRI]-GBP08-045) and in the background, a topographically detailed view. As Monferini has stated, this blended approach is entirely novel in the antiquarian-archaeological-architectural context of the scholarship of the time; it is interdisciplinarity par excellence.
The lengthy caption can be divided into two parts - letters link to the technical data shown in the print while a series of numbers at the end references the buildings that can be seen in the background view. There is a scale and the architectural plan is notated with measurements. Rich and complex in every way yet on a small scale, this image is a Piranesian tour de force.
BSR no. TA[PRI]-GBP07-047
Focillon no. 353
Wilton-Ely no. 486
Bibliography
Monferini, A. (1978) in Bettagno, A. (ed.) Piranesi: incisioni, rami, legature, architetture. Vicenza: N. Pozza, pp. 35-36
Salinitro, C. (2014) in Mariani G. (ed.) Giambattista Piranesi: matrici incise, 1756-1757. Vol. 2. Milano: Mazzotta, no. 217, pp. 413-415
Wilton-Ely, J. (1978) The mind and art of Giovanni Battista Piranesi. London: Thames and Hudson, pp. 57-59
Istituto Centrale per la Grafica
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Pianta, ed Elevazione del Ponte, oggi detto Quattro Capi …, from Antichità Romane, volume IV, plate XVIII. Author(s) of this publication: Clare Hornsby. Publishing date: 12/06/2024 URL: https://ipervisions.digitalcollections.bsr.ac.uk/piranesi-project-may-2024/?slide=13 Date visited:
Spaccato del Ponte Fabricio oggi detto Quattro Capi, from Antichità Romane, volume IV, plate XX
[1756]
Caption:
A. Spaccato del Ponte Fabricio oggi detto Quattro Capi B. Sperone aggiunto da Consoli sino alla linea C. D. Lastrico, che ricuopre i fondamenti del Ponte a livello dell’antico letto del Fiume E. Letto moderno del Fiume F. Pelo d’Acqua in tempo d’Agosto G. Pelo in tempo d’Inverno. H. Pelo d’Acqua in tempo dell’Anno 1750. I. Spaccato d’uno degli Archi superiori coi profili de Speroni di mezzo al Ponte, i quali si congiungono coi corsi de Cunei K fabbricati in tempo della Repubblica L. Spaccato del Ponte verso i ripari fatti da Consoli M. Ripari de Consoli uniti alle ripe N. Ripe fabbricate nello stesso tempo che fu eretto il Teatro di Marcello O. Linea che dimostra il letto moderno del Fiume P. Letto antico.
Piranesi Archit. dis. inc.
This plate contains two diagrams - one showing the piers of the Ponte Fabricio and the foundations on the bank in section and in the lower section drawing, the levels reached by the river in various seasons, also notable is the high water level of 1750, recorded at letter H. These details reveal the scrupulous care with which Piranesi was always concerned to describe the hydraulic engineering of the Romans, deriving in part from his early training in architecture in his native Venice with his uncle Matteo Lucchesi who was an architect working for the ‘magistro delle acque’. Several volumes were to be produced later by Piranesi regarding this specific aspect of the technical achievements of the Roman water engineers - the Rovine del Castello di Acqua Giulia of 1761 and the Emissario del Lago Albano for example, from the following year. These are “extensions” of the analyses such as this one, executed for the volumes of the Antichità Romane and are also connected with his study of the work of the ancient author Frontinus, the De Acquaeductu Urbis Romae of c. 98 AD.
This is the last plate in the group that describes this bridge.
BSR no. TA[PRI]-GBP07-048
Focillon no. 355
Wilton-Ely no. 488
Bibliography
Bevilacqua, M. (2006) ‘The young Piranesi: the itineraries of his formation’ in Bevilacqua, M., Glendening, P., Hyde Minor, H. (eds.) The serpent and the stylus: essays on G. B. Piranesi. Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan Press, pp. 13-53, especially pp. 20-21
Salinitro, C. (2014) in Mariani G. (ed.) Giambattista Piranesi: matrici incise, 1756-1757. Vol. 2. Milano: Mazzotta, no. 219, pp. 414-415
Istituto Centrale per la Grafica
Wilton-Ely, J. (1994) Giovanni Battista Piranesi: the complete etchings. San Francisco: A. Wofsy Fine Arts, vol. 1, p. 583
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Spaccato del Ponte Fabricio oggi detto Quattro Capi, from Antichità Romane, volume IV, plate XX. Author(s) of this publication: Clare Hornsby. Publishing date: 12/06/2024 URL: https://ipervisions.digitalcollections.bsr.ac.uk/piranesi-project-may-2024/?slide=14 Date visited:
Frammento di marmo di un Architrave e Fregio …, from Trofei di Ottaviano Augusto, plate 10
[1753]
Caption:
1. Frammento di marmo di un Architrave e Fregio, ritrovato tra le rovine del Palazzo de’ Cesari negli Orti Farnesiani. Nel Fregio scolpito di eccellente maniera apparisce una Vittoria alata con a canto il piede di un gran Candelliere. Questa, come vogliono alcuni, stava in atto di coronare un Trofeo, che avea inalzato dinanzi, di cui altro non si vede presentemente, che alcuni rotti Scudi appesi in alto, e sotto di essi un gran cumulo di altri Scudi, e di Spoglie militari. L’Architrave, del pari egregiamente lavorate, ha la gola superiore intagliata a fogliami di acanto; l’inferiore a foglie di olmo, ed i tondini compartiti a fuselli, e ad altri capricciosi lavori. 2. e 3. Capitelli giacenti nel giardino de’ Padri di S. Antonio Abate, creduti del Tempio di Diana. La loro forma, ed invenzione è sì bizzar[r]a, che non risponde ad alcuna delle tre maniere accennate da Vitruvio. L’uno, e l’altro però è di sì diligente simil lavoro, che sembrano opera di una stessa mano. 4. Pezzo di Colonna di marmo piantata in terra dinanzi la Chiesa di S. Bartolomeo all’Isola. Questa Colonna era attorniata vagamente da una Pianta di edera serpeggiante co’ rami, frondi, e fiori, tra quali veggonsi degli uccelletti, che van scherzando. il tutto con maravigliosa leggiadria espresso da diligente Scalpello. 5 Altro pezzo di Colonna di marmo, esistente in Campitelli dinanzi al Palazzo Capizucchi. Questa è lavorata a foglie di lauro di maniera greca. Il Collarino di questa Colonna si rende osservabile, per essere composto di mezzo Ovolo intagliato. Notasi nel Capitello Fig. 2. (come pure in alcuni altri di quest’Opera) un rialzo, il quale formava una divisione trà l’Architrave, e il Capitello. Ciò fù ordinato, affinchè l’Architrave pendendo più da una parte, che dall’altra per qualche difetto della Fabbrica, premendo non danneggiasse le corna del Capitello.
Piranesi Architetto dis. ed inc.
This sequence of prints is taken from a short series first produced by Piranesi in 1753. The Trophies of Octavian Augustus erected to commemorate the victory at Actium, and the conquest of Egypt with various other ornaments carefully recovered from the most valuable fragments of ancient Roman buildings, useful to painters, sculptors and architects… contained 10 unnumbered plates, and the title page vignette. They were, as the title indicated, intended to serve as inspiration for artists and architects, using the remains of Roman antiquities as source material for their own designs. The Trofei series came after two decades of Piranesi’s own archaeological research, in which he studied the ancient topography of the city and her monuments, as well as following the new excavations and their finds. The results of this research were organised into the four volumes of the Antichità Romane, but the plates of the Trofei di Ottaviano Augusto should be understood in the same context. A second edition of the plates was produced in 1778-1780, although numbered slightly differently.
The plates focus on the fragmentary remains of architectural details from what Piranesi believed to be two military “Trophies” set up by Augustus following his victory at the Battle of Actium in 31 BC. The “trophies” had been known as the “Trophies of Marius” since the Middle Ages, having been wrongly attributed to the victories of the Republican general Caius Marius of the Cimbri and Teuton tribes. The structure that they decorated was in fact the Nymphaeum of Alexander Severus, a monumental fountain constructed in 226 AD on the highest point of the Esquiline Hill. The fragmentary trophies had been removed in 1590 and installed in the balustrade of the cordonata at the Campidoglio, where Piranesi had studied them.
In this print, Piranesi has recorded six architectural fragments from different locations across the city: a column on the left, discovered in the church of S. Bartolomeo on the Tiber Island, was carved with branches of foliage snaking across its surface, and depictions of small birds. The column capital above it is a traditional Corinthian capital, formed of layered acanthus leaves, found in what was believed to be the Temple of Diana, at S. Antonio Abate on the Esquiline Hill. On the right hand side of the print is a column fragment carved with overlapping laurel leaves, and a capital that was so unusual Piranesi could find no parallel in the descriptions provided by Vitruvius. Above the architrave in the centre is a fragment of relief from the Palazzo de’ Cesari in the Farnese Gardens. It depicted a Winged Victory and a large candelabra at her feet, which Piranesi understood to represent the moment of her crowning a military trophy, made up of broken shields, which connected it to the two trophies that were the focal point of this publication. These minute details of architectural decoration are reproduced with Piranesi’s characteristic care; they are instructional and visually impressive, and served to both inform and inspire the viewer.
BSR no. TA[PRI]-GBP12-099
Focillon no. 138
Wilton-Ely no. 273
Bibliography
Tretola, F. (2010) in Mariani G. (ed.) Giambattista Piranesi: matrici incise, 1743-1753. Vol. 1. Milano: Mazzotta, no. 85, p. 152
Wilton-Ely, J. (1978), The Mind and Art of Giovanni Battista Piranesi, London: Thames & Hudson, p. 47-48
Istituto Centrale per la Grafica
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Frammento di marmo di un Architrave e Fregio …, from Trofei di Ottaviano Augusto, plate 10. Author(s) of this publication: Caroline Barron. Publishing date: 12/06/2024 URL: https://ipervisions.digitalcollections.bsr.ac.uk/piranesi-project-may-2024/?slide=15 Date visited:
[Parte di una cornice di marmo …], from Trofei di Ottaviano Augusto, plate 13
[1753]
[The caption is missing in our copy:
1. Parte di una Cornice di marmo, la quale con tutti gli altri pezzi della Tavola presente fu trovata nelle rovine del Palazzo de’ Cesari, ed ora esiste negli Orti Farnesiani. Si veggono scolpiti in questa con maraviglioso artificio de fogliami, delfini, conchiglie, e de’ altri ben disposti lavori. 2. Soffitto di un Gocciolatojo di Cornice, abbellito con intagli di varie frondi, cocce de’ frutti di pino, in vaga maniera composti, et circondati da altre foglie a guisa di corone, annesse una all’altra, e da fascie legate. 3. Parte di altra Cornice lavorata nella Gola rovescia di fronde, bacche, e di altri capricci, interposti a graziosi compartimenti di fettucce. La Corona, o sia Piano è adornato da melagrane, coccole, e fogliami in vago ordine serpeggianti. 4. Soffitto della detta Corona scolpito con ornamenti di cocce de’ frutti di pino, foglie, funghi, e di altri simili frutti prodotti dalla natura.
Piranesi Archit. dis. ed inc.]
This print, no. 13 in the short series dedicated to the so-called Trophies of Octavian Augustus from the Nymphaeum of Alexander Severus on the Esquiline Hill and installed in the balustrade of the staircase of the Campidoglio in 1590 (see TA[PRI]-GBP12-099 for a full explanation), is an example of the kind of architectural detail that Piranesi believed would be of interest to antiquarians, architects and artists. The print depicts four pieces of ancient architrave, all of which had been excavated from the remains of the Palazzo de’ Cesari in the Farnese gardens, which had been created on the northern section of the Palatine Hill in 1550.
The fragment at the top of the page is a piece of marble architrave, sculpted with alternating fronds of foliage, anchored in small shells at their base, with intertwined dolphins. Beneath this is a piece of ceiling cornice, embellished with alternating carvings of leaves, pine-shells, and surrounded by other leaves in the form of crowns, attached to each other and by tied bands. Fragment no. 3 is another piece of cornice, decorated with leaves, and berries in the reverse of those in the decoration depicted above, and separated by elegant strands of ribbons. The base of the cornice is carved with pomegranates, berries, and foliage in a vague meandering order. The final piece of decoration, at the base of the print, is stated to be from the ceiling of the cornice in no. 3, and is sculpted with ornaments of pine-shells, leaves, mushrooms, and other similar examples from nature. The print reveals the wealth of decorative options that existed for Roman sculptors, and the impressive impact of their variety.
BSR no. TA[PRI]-GBP15-101
Focillon no. 140
Wilton-Ely no. 275
Bibliography
Tretola, F. (2010) in Mariani G. (ed.) Giambattista Piranesi: matrici incise, 1743-1753. Vol. 1. Milano: Mazzotta, no. 90, p. 155
Scaloni, G. (2010) in Mariani G. (ed.) Giambattista Piranesi: matrici incise, 1743-1753. Vol. 1. Milano: Mazzotta, pp. 105-121
Istituto Centrale per la Grafica
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[Parte di una cornice di marmo …], from Trofei di Ottaviano Augusto, plate 13. Author(s) of this publication: Caroline Barron. Publishing date: 12/06/2024 URL: https://ipervisions.digitalcollections.bsr.ac.uk/piranesi-project-may-2024/?slide=16 Date visited:
Capitello di marmo nel Palazzo Mattei …, from Trofei di Ottaviano Augusto, plate 12
[1753]
Caption:
1. Capitello di marmo nel Palazzo Mattei, ornato di cornucopie co’ frutti e fiori, di festoni, e di altri fogliami co’ lumache nelle foglie di mezzo: il tutto con gran diligenza condotto dall’arte. Osservasi ancora di particolare il listello posto sopra al collarino. 2. Altro Capitello del Palazzo de’ Cesari negli Orti Farnesiani. Notasi in questo, da ottimo scalpello lavorato, un primo ordine di foglie, che a guisa di corona cinge nella parte inferiore la Campana essendo nel restante abbellita da varj altri fogliami graziosam.te intrecciati, i quali serpendo a foggia de’ caulicoli d’intorno le Volute, sostentate da altre foglie grandi, sono loro di vago nobilissimo ornamento. 3. Capitello nel Palazzo Mattei, rappresentante una canestra, circondata a piede da una ghirlanda di lauro. La parte di sopra è ornata di aquile, festoni, e ghirlande. 4. Pezzo di Colonna giacente nelle Terme Antoniane. è cinta da piede come da tre grossi anelli. dal che sembrano indicati i principj della Colonna. 5. Altro pezzo di Colonna scannellata, sopra la quale si vede l’avanzo del suo Capitello, nobilm.te ornato d’intagli. Nel cortile del Pal.zo Farnese. 6. Parte della Pianta della suddetta Colonna.
Piranesi Architetto dis. ed inc.
This print is also taken from the short series dedicated to the so-called Trophies of Octavian Augustus from the Nymphaeum of Alexander Severus on the Esquiline Hill (see TA[PRI]-GBP12-099 for a full explanation) and is a further example of the kind of architectural detail that Piranesi believed would be of interest to antiquarians, architects and artists. The print depicts four column capitals and fragments of column from different collections of antiquities in Rome, and which contributed to the variety of architectural decoration innovated by the Romans that Piranesi was showcasing in this publication.
No. 1, in the top left of the print, is a capital from the collection of antiquities at Palazzo Mattei. It is very decorated with cornucopias of fruits and flowers, garlands, and other foliage with snail shells in the central leaves. To the right of this is a Corinthian capital from the ruins of the Palazzo de’ Cesari in the Farnese Gardens on the Palatine Hill. This very finely worked capital is sculpted in the lower register with a crown of leaves, above which are strands of gracefully intertwined foliage and caulicoles - or stalks of the leaves - which snake around its shape. The volutes - the spiral, scroll-shaped ornaments - are supported by other large leaves. The extraordinary capital in the centre of the print is again from Palazzo Mattei, and represents a woven basket, surrounded at the foot by a laurel garland. The upper part is decorated with eagles, festoons and garlands. In the bottom left of the print is a fragment of column from the Baths of Caracalla (described by Piranesi as the Antonine Baths). The base is constructed of three large rings, from which the column emerges elegantly. The final fragment, in the bottom right of the print, depicts a piece of fluted column, finely decorated with various architectural motifs, culminating in the egg and dart pattern in the largest and topmost register.
BSR no. TA[PRI]-GBP15-104
Focillon no. 141
Wilton-Ely no. 276 (small print)
Bibliography
Tretola, F. (2010) in Mariani G. (ed.) Giambattista Piranesi: matrici incise, 1743-1753. Vol. 1. Milano: Mazzotta, no. 88, p. 154
Scaloni, G. (2010) in Mariani G. (ed.) Giambattista Piranesi: matrici incise, 1743-1753. Vol. 1. Milano: Mazzotta, pp. 105-121
Istituto Centrale per la Grafica
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Capitello di marmo nel Palazzo Mattei …, from Trofei di Ottaviano Augusto, plate 12. Author(s) of this publication: Caroline Barron. Publishing date: 12/06/2024 URL: https://ipervisions.digitalcollections.bsr.ac.uk/piranesi-project-may-2024/?slide=17 Date visited:
Facciata di un Gocciolatojo in piano …, from Trofei di Ottaviano Augusto, plate 14
[1753]
Caption:
1. Facciata di un Gocciolatojo in piano, scolpito di rose, fascia, e fiori, in vago ordine distribuiti. 2. Avanzo di un Soffitto di Architrave, ornato maravigliosam.te d’intagli a perfezione condotti. Veggonsi nel piano de’ laterali delle foglie disposte a guisa di corone con rose in mezzo. L’altro piano, che segue, è sfondato da una gola rovescia, intagliata a foglie di quercia, con due listelli, che la dividono e dal primo piano, e dalla parte di mezzo, cui graziosamente circonda. La parte di mezzo convessa a modo di bastone porge in fuori in basso rilievo un folto cespuglio, o fascio di foglie, tronchi, e frutti co’ degli uccelli, che vi scherzano. 3. Pezzo di Fregio, ornato di fogliami, fiori, animali, e figure a grottesco. Tutti e tre li suddetti Pezzi esistono negli Orti Farnesiani. 4. Pezzo di Colonna di marmo scannellata e co’ bastoni di mezzo rilievo, come nella Pianta fig. 5. da capo de’ quali escono punte di asta come si vede nella fig. 6. Questo Frammento coll’altro, che segue, si trova nel Cortile del Toro Farnese. 7. Altro pezzo di Colonna con iscannellature, e bastoni, e colle punte di Asta. Ogni scannellatura ha nel mezzo un rilievo, che si spande ad uso di due gole rovescie, come appare nella Pianta fig. 8.
Piranesi Architetto dis. ed inc.
This print is also taken from the short series dedicated to the so-called Trophies of Octavian Augustus from the Nymphaeum of Alexander Severus on the Esquiline Hill (see TA[PRI]-GBP12-099 for a full explanation) and is a further example of the kind of architectural detail that Piranesi believed would be of interest to antiquarians, architects and artists. The print depicts a series of decorative fragments from Roman buildings, which contributed to the variety of architectural decoration innovated by the Romans that Piranesi was showcasing in this publication.
The print is organised in clockwise direction from the top right, where a small piece of dripstone (the moulding over a door or window), sculpted with roses, bands and flowers is depicted. Beneath this, and dominating the main part of the print, is a fragment of sculpted ceiling, the exterior register is adorned with leaves arranged like crowns with roses in the middle. The next register is carved with oak leaves, with two strips, which divide it from the exterior register and from the middle section, from which a thick bundle of leaves, fruits and birds project in low relief. In the bottom left of the print, nestled in an evocative arrangement of stone and undergrowth, is a piece of frieze, decorated with foliage, flowers, animals, and grotesque figures. All three of the aforementioned pieces had been discovered in the Farnese Gardens on the Palatine Hill. Nos. 4, 5 and 6 can be found in the top left of the print, depicting a piece of fluted marble column, the plan of said fluting, and the shaft-tips of the base of the fluting respectively. Fragment 7 is of another piece of column with grooves, in the centre of which are sticks with pointed tips. Each groove has a relief in the middle, which spreads out using two reverse grooves, as appears in the plan depicted in no. 8. Piranesi’s focus in these arrangements is to reveal the rich nature of Roman architectural decoration, which both borrowed from nature itself but also relied on complex geometric arrangements that balanced the detailed ornamental features with careful and harmonious proportions.
BSR no. TA[PRI]-GBP15-105
Focillon no. 142
Wilton-Ely no. 277
Bibliography
Tretola, F. (2010) in Mariani G. (ed.) Giambattista Piranesi: matrici incise, 1743-1753. Vol. 1. Milano: Mazzotta, no. 87, pp. 153-154
Scaloni, G. (2010) in Mariani G. (ed.) Giambattista Piranesi: matrici incise, 1743-1753. Vol. 1. Milano: Mazzotta, pp. 105-121
Istituto Centrale per la Grafica
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Facciata di un Gocciolatojo in piano …, from Trofei di Ottaviano Augusto, plate 14. Author(s) of this publication: Caroline Barron. Publishing date: 12/06/2024 URL: https://ipervisions.digitalcollections.bsr.ac.uk/piranesi-project-may-2024/?slide=18 Date visited:
Capitello di marmo, il quale co’ l’altro, che segue, esiste nella Basilica di S. Lorenzo fuori delle mura …, from Trofei di Ottaviano Augusto, plate 15
[1753]
Caption:
1. Capitello di marmo, il quale co’ l’altro, che segue, esiste nella Basilica di S. Lorenzo fuori delle mura. Si vede in questo Capitello la parte inferiore vestita da un primo ordine di foglie corintie; il rimanente ornato di spoglie militari a guisa de’ Trofei colle Vittorie alate ne’ fia[n]chi, le quali sostentano le corna dello stesso. 2. Capitello lavorato di varie foglie egregiamente scolpite. Sorgono da queste altre foglie a modo di caul[i]coli, le quali vanno ad appoggiarsi sotto le corna dell’abaco. Sorgono ancora de’ cornucopie, i quali coi loro frutti formando le rose vengono sostenuti da cavalli, che usciti sembrano di sotto dagli stessi caulicoli. 3. Pezzo di Colonna, giacente al Palazzo Capizucchi, vestita di foglie e frutti. Il collarino pare formato da una treccia di funi, da fascie in vaghi ordinati giri intrecciate. 4. Altro Pezzo di Colonna nel cortile dell’Ospizio de’ Cistercien. delle tre Fontane. Ella era divisa da più ordine di scannellature, investite, come da corone di doppj fogliami. La Fig. 5. dimostra parte della Pianta della medesima Colonna.
Piranesi Architetto dis. ed inc.
The four column fragments in this print are a further indication of Piranesi’s determination to communicate the innovation and decorative range of Roman architectural ornament. Again taken from the Trofei di Ottaviano Augusto series, which used the two military trophies from the Nymphaeum of Alexander Severus that had been installed in the Campidoglio staircase in 1590 (see TA[PRI]-GBP12-099 and TA[PRI]-GBP01-005) to introduce this range of ornament to his audience of antiquarians and architectural designers.
The two column capitals in the top of the print came from the Basilica of S. Lorenzo outside the walls. The capital on the left is carved with a lower register of Corinthian acanthus leaves; the remainder is adorned with military spoils in the form of shields armour, with Winged Victories to each side. The capital to the rights is also sculpted with leaves, from which emerge horses that support cornucopias laden with fruit, which rest under the abacus. Fig. 3 depicts a piece of column from Palazzo Capizucchi, in Piazza Campitelli, which is adorned with leaves and fruit. The top of the column is decorated with a piece of braided and intertwined rope. To the right of this is another piece of column from the courtyard of the Hospital of the Cistercian monks; it is divided by several rows of grooves which are separated by bands of double foliage. The plan of this column is given in fig. 5.
BSR no. TA[PRI]-GBP15-103
Focillon no. 143
Wilton-Ely no. 278 (small print)
Bibliography
Tretola, F. (2010) in Mariani G. (ed.) Giambattista Piranesi: matrici incise, 1743-1753. Vol. 1. Milano: Mazzotta, no. 89, p. 154
Scaloni, G. (2010) in Mariani G. (ed.) Giambattista Piranesi: matrici incise, 1743-1753. Vol. 1. Milano: Mazzotta, pp. 105-121
Istituto Centrale per la Grafica
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Capitello di marmo, il quale co’ l’altro, che segue, esiste nella Basilica di S. Lorenzo fuori delle mura …, from Trofei di Ottaviano Augusto, plate 15. Author(s) of this publication: Caroline Barron. Publishing date: 12/06/2024 URL: https://ipervisions.digitalcollections.bsr.ac.uk/piranesi-project-may-2024/?slide=19 Date visited:
Trofei d’Augusto esistenti su la piazza del Campidoglio … / Frammento di uno Scudo caduto …, from Le Rovine del Castello dell’Acqua Giulia, plates XVII and XVIII
[1761/1753]
Caption:
Trofei d’Augusto esistenti su la piazza del Campidoglio, tolti già di sotto le rovine degli archi del Castello di cui si tratta, accennate nella Tav. II. lett. F, e nella Tav. XIII. fig. I. lett. Q.
Piranesi F.
Frammento di uno Scudo caduto da Trofei di Ottaviano Augusto: ora esistente nel Cortile delle Mendicanti a Torre de’ Conti.
Piranesi Architetto fec.
The images depicted in this print originally appeared in the volume of plates produced in 1753, depicting the so-called Trofei d’Ottaviano Augusto, in which Piranesi recorded two sculptural fragments of military ‘trophies’ which he had identified - in a lengthy caption - as those set up by the emperor Augustus following his success at the Battle of Actium in 31 BC and the conquest of Egypt. The sculptures had decorated the niches of a monumental fountain on the Esquiline Hill and had been known since the Middle Ages as the “Trophies of Marius” (following the Republican general’s conquest of the Cimbri and Teuton tribes in 107-101 BC). They have since been identified as sculptures intended to decorate a triumphal monument celebrating the emperor Domitian’s victories over the Chatti and the Dacians in 80 AD, and which were later included in the monumental Nymphaeum built on the Esquiline by Alexander Severus in 226 AD. As this fountain was originally likely fed by the Acqua Giulia, which was completed by Augustus’s one-time heir and architect of the Battle of Actium, Marcus Agrippa, Piranesi justified their association with Augustus and repeated the depictions of the trophies in his later publication of the Ruins of the Castle of the Acqua Giulia, with a brief note indicating that they had been moved from their original location in 1590, to decorate the balustrade of the Campidoglio.
In the top image, the two sculptural trophies are depicted alongside each other; the trophies are made up of shields and armour piled on top of each other in a vertical arrangement. The trophy on the right also depicts a robed, female figure with arms outstretched, perhaps the personification of a conquered people.
In the print below the two trophies Piranesi depicts the fragment of a broken shield which had originally appeared as part of the frontispiece of the Trofei volume. The shield is surrounded by other architectural fragments in a typically Piranesian arrangement of broken columns, and decorated marble pieces, overgrown with foliage and vegetation in an evocative blend of architectural splendour and archaeological decay. The caption for the print noted that the fragment could be found in the cloister of the now-destroyed Dominican convent at SS. Annunziata. As Wilton-Ely has noted, the fragment made a significant impression on Piranesi, who included it in the relief decoration of his design for piazza dei Cavalieri di Malta on the Aventine hill.
BSR: TA[PRI]-GBP01-005
Focillon no. 418
Wilton-Ely no. 551 / 269
Bibliography
Grumo G. (2017) in Mariani G. (ed.) Giambattista Piranesi: matrici incise, 1761-1765. Vol. 3, Roma: Editalia, nos 23 and 24, pp. 120-121
How to quote this page:
Trofei d’Augusto esistenti su la piazza del Campidoglio … / Frammento di uno Scudo caduto …, from Le Rovine del Castello dell’Acqua Giulia, plates XVII and XVIII. Author(s) of this publication: Caroline Barron. Publishing date: 12/06/2024 URL: https://ipervisions.digitalcollections.bsr.ac.uk/piranesi-project-may-2024/?slide=20 Date visited:
[Various capitals and architectural ornaments compared to an illustrated by Le Roy], from Della Magnificenza ed Architettura de’ Romani, left hand section of plate XVII
[1761]
Caption on the inserted fictive sheet:
Les plus beaux monuments de la Grece. Ex Le-Royo part 2. Inter Deli rudera.
Upper left: In villa Pamphilia; In vinea Borioni ad Portam Salariam.
Below: In villa Dnõrum de Casalibus; In villa Matthaejorum; In villa Matthaejorum; In villa Negronia.
Centre: In villa Matthaejorum; Basis cippi in aedibus Emi D. Alexandri Card. Albani; In aedibus Matthaejorum.
Upper right: In villa Alteria; In collegio Romano.
Below: In collegio Romano; In villa Palumbaria.
Piranesi F.
This print is one half of a double-page image in which Piranesi offers examples of Roman architectural decoration, in response to Julien-David Le Roy’s 1758 publication, Les ruines des plus beaux monuments de la Grèce (“The ruins of the most beautiful monuments of Greece”) (see also XXL.614.P.1 - Plate11). In this work, Le Roy had claimed that the architectural achievements of the Greeks was superior to that of the Romans, who had simply inherited the architectural orders (the principles by which Greek buildings were organised) and debased them by unnecessary additions. Piranesi’s argument recognised the innovation of Roman building practices and found precedent for them in the work of Etruscan architecture, which predated that of the Greek world.
In this print, Piranesi depicts a series of column capitals and reliefs from different locations in Rome, such as the villa Mattei, the villa Pamphilj, villa Negroni, and in the collection of Cardinal Alessandro Albani. Just to the right of the scrolled Ionic capital in the centre of the print is a little ‘note’ from Piranesi; a sheet of paper with a column capital appears ‘tacked’ to the print as if pinned to the page, with a title above it stating ‘LES PLVS BEAVX MONVMENTS DE LA GRECE, Ex Le-Royo part 2.’ This is a typically provocative addition from Piranesi, who used the Della Magnificenza ed Architettura de’ Romani volume to advance his own architectural treatise and to respond to his critics. The contemporary interest in archeological remains provided the perfect avenue through which Piranesi might display his own exceptional knowledge of ancient Roman forms, but also exploit the perceived authority of antiquity to advance his own convictions with a wider audience.
BSR no. TA[PRI]-GBP10-076
Focillon [no catalogue nos. for plates XVII, XVIII or XIX]
Wilton-Ely no. 777
Bibliography
Gasparri, C. (2017) in Mariani G. (ed.) Giambattista Piranesi: matrici incise, 1761-1765. Vol. 3. Roma: Editalia, no. 45, p. 180
Istituto Centrale per la Grafica
How to quote this page:
[Various capitals and architectural ornaments compared to an illustrated by Le Roy], from Della Magnificenza ed Architettura de’ Romani, left hand section of plate XVII. Author(s) of this publication: Caroline Barron. Publishing date: 12/06/2024 URL: https://ipervisions.digitalcollections.bsr.ac.uk/piranesi-project-may-2024/?slide=21 Date visited:
Essais de differentes Frises …, from Della Introduzione e del Progresso delle Belle Arti in Europa ne’ Tempi Antichi, part three of Osservazioni di Gio. Battista Piranesi sopra la lettre de M. Mariette, plate I
[1765]
Caption:
Essais de differentes Frises ou peintures qui se trouvent dans les le soûterrains des ancients Etrusques près de Corneto. Le colori est sur le gout des vases Etrusques, sçavoir le noir pour le fonds, et le blanche ou le jaune pour l’oeuvre. Le blanc pour le fonds, et le rouge ou l’azur ou le noir pour l’oeuvre. Le rouge ou l’azur pour le fonds, et le blanc pour l’oeuvre.
Bottom right: Problême historique à l’avantage de Tailleurs. Qui des Etrusques ou de Grecs a été l’inventeur de ces espèces de gallons qui out été decouvertes par Piranesi en Toscane dans les cavernes de Corneto et de Chiusi.
Piranesi del. e inc.
First of three prints under the same group title, with examples of decorative friezes and related architectural fragments from the Etruscan tombs near Chiusi (Tuscany). In 1765 the Scots dealer and antiquarian James Byres visited some of the subterranean Etruscan tombs of Corneto (Tarquinia) accompanied by another British visitor George Wilbraham and also by Piranesi. At this stage in his career, Piranesi was intensely involved in gathering ammunition to support his arguments in favour of the importance of Etruscan design, specifically set out in the text of this volume addressed to Pierre-Jean Mariette, the French collector and connoisseur who had criticised the Piranesian thesis in the Della Magnificenza ed Architettura de’ Romani volume and was consistently promoting the primacy of Greece over Rome. The caption to this plate is written in French because the rest of the book is addressed to French readers of Mariette’s article in the Gazette littéraire. The comments on this first of the three plates are key to understanding their role in the volume. The colours of the originals are noted in the top caption, referencing those found on vases and in a second panel of text his note reads [author’s translation]: “Historical problem that helps tailors [he is being sarcastic, this word can also mean stonecutters]. Who among the Greeks or the Etruscans was the inventor of these types of trimmings discovered by Piranesi in Tuscany in the caves of Corneto and of Chiusi?”
Heather Hyde Minor has analysed these Etruscan inscriptions pieced together by Piranesi, based on elements recorded in Anton Francesco Gori’s Museum Etruscum. She points out that Piranesi could have used his first-hand knowledge based on his visit to the tombs, but instead chose to adapt, alter and invent. His aim is clear as revealed by the sarcasm in the remarks at the end of the comment quoted above which asks the question – who was it that invented these designs? Greeks or Etruscans? - the answer being, sometimes, neither: - it was Piranesi himself.
BSR no. TA[PRI]-GBP11-077
Focillon no 974
Wilton-Ely no. 806
Bibliography
Salinitro, C. (2017) in Mariani G. (ed.) Giambattista Piranesi: matrici incise, 1761-1765. Vol. 3. Roma: Editalia, no. 80, pp. 223-224
and
Istituto Centrale per la Grafica
Danielsson, O.A. (1913) Zu den etruskischen Inschriften Piranesi’s. Uppsala
Dennis, G. (1848) Cities and cemeteries of Etruria. London: J. Murray, vol. 1, pp. 316-317
Gori, A.F. (1737-1743) Museum Etruscum exhibens insignia veterum Etruscorum monumenta… Florentiae: C. Albizinus. 3 vols.
Hyde Minor, H. (2015) Piranesi’s lost words. University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State University Press, chapter 4, especially pp. 143-151
Wilton-Ely, J. (ed.) (2002) Observations on the letter of Monsieur Mariette. Los Angeles, CA: Getty Publications, Introduction, p. 21
How to quote this page:
Essais de differentes Frises …, from Della Introduzione e del Progresso delle Belle Arti in Europa ne’ Tempi Antichi, part three of Osservazioni di Gio. Battista Piranesi sopra la lettre de M. Mariette, plate I. Author(s) of this publication: Clare Hornsby. Publishing date: 12/06/2024 URL: https://ipervisions.digitalcollections.bsr.ac.uk/piranesi-project-may-2024/?slide=22 Date visited:
Essais de differentes Frises …, from Della Introduzione e del Progresso delle Belle Arti in Europa ne’ Tempi Antichi, part three of Osservazioni di Gio. Battista Piranesi sopra la lettre de M. Mariette, plate II
[1765]
Caption:
Essais de differentes Frises ou peintures qui se trouvent dans les le soûterrains des ancients Etrusques près de Corneto.
Piranesi del. ed inc.
This is the second of the three prints under the same group title, with examples of decorative friezes and related architectural fragments from the Etruscan tombs near Chiusi (Tuscany). Unlike the confusion of broken pieces that appears in the other two (TA[PRI]-GBP11-077 and TA[PRI]-GBP11-079 from the 2022 exhibition) this print shows only four frieze fragments, arranged neatly one above the other; there is no caption included on this plate. The second from the top frieze carries an Etruscan inscription as does the lowest of the four, presented as though roughly cut off from a larger slab. This inscription has been shown by Heather Hyde Minor to be an adapted version of parts of two inscriptions included in Gori’s Museum Etruscum, one of which flanks a warrior bas relief while the other runs the length of a phallic grave monument (see TA[PRI]-GBP11-077 for the background detail of all three of these prints).
BSR no. TA[PRI]-GBP11-078
Focillon no 975
Wilton-Ely no. 807
Bibliography
Salinitro, C. (2017) in Mariani G. (ed.) Giambattista Piranesi: matrici incise, 1761-1765. Vol. 3. Roma: Editalia, no. 81, pp. 223-224
and
Istituto Centrale per la Grafica
Danielsson, O.A. (1913) Zu den etruskischen Inschriften Piranesi’s. Uppsala.
Dennis, G. (1848) Cities and cemeteries of Etruria. London: J. Murray, vol. 1, pp. 316-317
Gori, A.F. (1737-1743) Museum Etruscum exhibens insignia veterum Etruscorum monumenta … Florentiae: C. Albizinus. 3 vols., especially vol. 3, class 4, pl. 18, no. 5 and 2
Hyde Minor, H. (2015) Piranesi’s lost words. University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State University Press, p. 148, fig. 99
Wilton-Ely, J. (ed.) (2002) Observations on the letter of Monsieur Mariette. Los Angeles, CA: Getty Publications, Introduction, p. 21
How to quote this page:
Essais de differentes Frises …, from Della Introduzione e del Progresso delle Belle Arti in Europa ne’ Tempi Antichi, part three of Osservazioni di Gio. Battista Piranesi sopra la lettre de M. Mariette, plate II. Author(s) of this publication: Clare Hornsby. Publishing date: 12/06/2024 URL: https://ipervisions.digitalcollections.bsr.ac.uk/piranesi-project-may-2024/?slide=23 Date visited:
Ordine toscano del Tempio di Giove Laziale, from Antichità di Albano e di Castel Gandolfo, plate II
[1764]
Caption:
A B Quantità per alto della pietra tutta d’un pezzo, che forma l’architrave. B C Quantità per alto dell’altra pietra tutta d’un pezzo che forma la cornice. Ambedue questi pezzi rimangono sul monte Albano in cima alla salita per entrare nel Convento de’ PP. Passionarj.
F G Modanatura e profilo di un altro frammento parimente sul monte Albano appo il Convento de’ PP. Passionarj, nel sito detto, piazza di Spagna.
D Plinto rotonda della base.
E Posamento della colonna.
3 Architrave notati nella Tav. I. con la lett. C. 4 Cornice notata nella Tav. I. con la lett. D.
1, 2 Frantumi della colonna dell’ordine notati nella Tav. I. con le lett. A B. Questi rimangono rovesciati per la rupe della cima del monte verso l’Ariccia.
Piranesi F.
This volume and its 27 prints of architectural and sculptural remnants of antiquity to be seen in and around the city of Albano south of Rome is the result of a papal commission as Piranesi sets out in his dedicatory essay that follows the large and lavish second frontispiece of the volume where the pope’s name is inscribed on a richly carved fictive fragment. Pope Clement XIII Rezzonico was a fellow Venetian and had financially sponsored other works by Piranesi, notably the Della Magnificenza ed Architettura de’ Romani. The theme of the dedication is of conservation and need for restoration of precious remains, the poor state of which had been commented on by the pontiff while visiting the papal estate at nearby Castel Gandolfo. This plate is a detailed examination of architectural details presented in a didactic fashion and is commented upon across several pages which form the first chapter of the 26 pages of explanatory text. Piranesi mentions the early date (under Tarquin) for this important temple that linked the ancient mountain top site to its Roman equivalent founded on the Capitoline and cites antiquarian sources. Hesberg (cited in Grumo) comments that Piranesi is following the Vitruvian model in the details of architectural elements he includes in the print, along with some of his own interpretation and invention; almost nothing remains of the Temple today.
BSR: TA[PRI]-GBP01-007
Focillon no. 510
Wilton-Ely no. 643
Bibliography
Mariani, G. (2020) ‘Da Roma a Cori passando per Albano’, in Giambattista Piranesi: matrici incise, 1762-1769. Vol. 4. Roma: De Luca, pp. 12-14
Grumo, G. (2020) Mariani G. (ed.) Giambattista Piranesi: matrici incise, 1762-1769. Vol. 4. Roma: De Luca, no. 30, pp. 138-139
Istituto Centrale per la Grafica
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Ordine toscano del Tempio di Giove Laziale, from Antichità di Albano e di Castel Gandolfo, plate II. Author(s) of this publication: Clare Hornsby. Publishing date: 12/06/2024 URL: https://ipervisions.digitalcollections.bsr.ac.uk/piranesi-project-may-2024/?slide=24 Date visited:
Disegno di spoglie d’antichi edifizj, le quali oggi servono di sopralimitare e di stipiti alla porta della Chiesa di S. Pietro della Città d’Albano, from Antichità di Albano e di Castel Gandolfo, plate IX
[1764]
Piranesi shows the carved front and inner surfaces of one of the ancient architectural frieze fragments from probably more than one source building that were reused to form the doorframe of the church of S. Pietro in Albano, on the side that opens on to the ancient via Appia. The structure of the church, a very early foundation, was based within a rectangular hall of an imperial baths complex. The doorway, with these decorated blocks on both sides, still now in place, features in an early photograph by Thomas Ashby in the BSR archive (TA[PHP]-XIII.037). He explores the rich variety of decorative detail here - palmettes and acanthus scrolls - but he presents the frieze fragment as if it were in an excellent state of preservation which was probably not the case. This plate is briefly mentioned in the volume’s text, on page 11; it is a “double-spread plate”, spanning the join between two sheets of paper and the plate number appears on the second sheet.
BSR: TA[PRI]-GBP02-009
Focillon no. 518
Wilton-Ely no. 651
Bibliography
Grumo, G. (2020) in Mariani G. (ed.) Giambattista Piranesi: matrici incise, 1762-1769. Vol. 4. Roma: De Luca, no. 38, pp. 144-145
Istituto Centrale per la Grafica
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Disegno di spoglie d’antichi edifizj, le quali oggi servono di sopralimitare e di stipiti alla porta della Chiesa di S. Pietro della Città d’Albano, from Antichità di Albano e di Castel Gandolfo, plate IX. Author(s) of this publication: Clare Hornsby. Publishing date: 12/06/2024 URL: https://ipervisions.digitalcollections.bsr.ac.uk/piranesi-project-may-2024/?slide=25 Date visited:
Disegno di due antiche cornici consimili, oggi stipiti della porta della Chiesa detta la Rotonda in Albano, from Antichità di Albano e di Castel Gandolfo, plate XX
[1764]
Caption bottom left: Pezzo, o sia modanatura d’un antico pilastro, che giace su la via Appia presso un Romitorio, due miglia di quà da Albano.
Caption bottom centre: Frammento, nella villa Paolucci d’Albano, d’un antico soffitto.
Piranesi F.
The title printed across the top of the plate is in the plural - two ancient cornices - and refers to both the preceding “double-spread” plate, numbered XVIII, as well as this one, numbered plate XX (which instead of spreading across two sheets, is printed so the reader needs to turn the volume to the left to view it). It includes a cornice that is now embedded into the altar step of the church of S. Maria della Rotonda, where it was once part of the door frame as Piranesi tells us. The very large fragment in plate XVIII is now the actual altar; the relocation of both these fragments is 20th century.
The text in chapter 8 refers to these plates and the excellence of the carving is mentioned although Piranesi has no doubt improved the condition in his rendering. The arrangement of the three fragments, similar to that in the preceding image which has four pieces flanking the massive cornice, is reminiscent of the layout of the antique pieces that are the main feature of the Della Magnificenza ed Architettura de’ Romani volume - see TA[PRI]-GBP10-076 and XXL.614.P.1 - Plate11. In that, however, the juxtapositions often underline the heavily polemical tone of the text, the context being of course the Graeco-Roman controversy and Piranesi’s deep prejudice against Le Roy, the French antiquarian and proponent of the theory of Greek pre-eminence). That is not the case with these Albano plates.
BSR: TA[PRI]-GBP01-010
Focillon no. 529
Wilton-Ely no. 662
Bibliography
Grumo, G. (2020) in Mariani G. (ed.) Giambattista Piranesi: matrici incise, 1762-1769. Vol. 4. Roma: De Luca, no. 49, pp. 151-152
Istituto Centrale per la Grafica
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Disegno di due antiche cornici consimili, oggi stipiti della porta della Chiesa detta la Rotonda in Albano, from Antichità di Albano e di Castel Gandolfo, plate XX. Author(s) of this publication: Clare Hornsby. Publishing date: 12/06/2024 URL: https://ipervisions.digitalcollections.bsr.ac.uk/piranesi-project-may-2024/?slide=26 Date visited:
[Various capitals and architectural ornaments compared to an illustrated by Le Roy], from Della Magnificenza ed Architettura de’ Romani, plate XI
[1761]
Caption on the inserted fictive sheet:
Les plus beaux monuments de la Grece. Ex Le-Royo part 2. In aede Erechtei; Deli inter rudera cujusdam aedis; In aede Erechtei.
Upper left:
In villa Emi Cardinalis Alexandri Albani extra Portam Salariam.
Below: In villa Corsinia extra Portam S. Pancratii; In villa Burghesiana; In villa Barbarinorum prope Albam; In Pantheo Agrippae; In aede Verospia.
Centre: In villa Palumbaria.
Below: In mausoleo Augusti.
Upper right: In aede SS. Nerei, et Achellei.
Below: In villa Emi Card. Alexandri Albani extra Portam Salariam [and for the column]: In fronte januae domus Mastrotiae in area S. Hieronymi de Charitate; In vinea PP. SS. Dominici et Sixti prope aedem SS. Nerei et Achillei; In vinea S. Ioannis ante Portam Latinam.
Piranesi F.
The extended sequence of plates with examples of capitals, bases and columns starts at plate IV of the Della Magnificenza ed Architettura de’ Romani volume and runs to plate XX; another example of these beautifully arranged architectural fragments is TA[PRI]-GBP10-076, which is one half of plate XVII.
Piranesi’s argument in the text of the book relating to the fecundity of Roman architectural forms and decoration is given visual support by the examples he chooses to show in these plates, at many points specifically comparing them to details from Le Roy.
The illustration at the top of this print which is inscribed Ex Le Royo part 2 can be identified as Piranesi’s redrafting of three of the column bases from parts of the Erechtheion temple complex in Athens (labelled as In aede Erecthei) which Le Roy includes in his plate XXXI. As with the Le Roy capital included in no. 20, Piranesi heavily ironises the contrast between the paucity of invention (or classical simplicity, depending on your viewpoint) in the Greek work and the richness of the Roman examples by adopting exaggerated contrast in their depiction. The Le Roy bases here are in single faint etched lines while the Roman ones are tonally striking, including full detail of the sculptural undercutting and relief.
Of particular interest is the column captioned In fronte januae domus Mastrotiae in area S. Hieronymi de Charitate. The doorway to palazzo Mastrozzi Graziosi in piazza di S. Caterina della Rota, opposite the church of S. Girolamo della Carità, is still in situ, flanked by two handsome columns, clearly the same as shown in this print.
BSR Library collection shelfmark: XXL.614.P.1 - Plate11
Focillon no. 943
Wilton-Ely no. 771
Bibliography
Gasparri, C. (2017) in Mariani G. (ed.) Giambattista Piranesi: matrici incise, 1761-1765. Vol. 3. Roma: Editalia, no. 39, p. 175 (archaeological notes) and Salinitro, C. (2017) in idem, pp. 179-180 (short essay)
Istituto Centrale per la Grafica
Le Roy, D. (1770) Les ruines des plus beaux monuments de la Grèce considérées du côté de l’histoire et du côté de l’architecture. 2nd ed. Paris: L.-F. Delatour, especially vol. 1, part 2, p. 51
Wilton-Ely, J. (ed.) (2002) Observations on the letter of Monsieur Mariette. Los Angeles, CA: Getty Publications, especially pp. 21-24
How to quote this page:
[Various capitals and architectural ornaments compared to an illustrated by Le Roy], from Della Magnificenza ed Architettura de’ Romani, plate XI. Author(s) of this publication: Clare Hornsby. Publishing date: 12/06/2024 URL: https://ipervisions.digitalcollections.bsr.ac.uk/piranesi-project-may-2024/?slide=27 Date visited:
Ichnographiam Campi Martii Antiquae Urbis, from Campus Martius antiquae Urbis (first state)
[1757-1760]
Caption as fictive inscription:
Roberto Adam Britanno architecturae cultori Ichnographiam Campi Martii antiquae urbis Ioannes Baptista Piranesius in sui amoris argumentum D.D.D.
This large-scale map of the Campus Martius is included in Piranesi’s book which describes the history and the present state of the area and shows it restored to a former glory, one of his own creation. He was inspired by details on the marble fragments of the Severan plan of the city, which had been reassembled by Nolli in the 1740s, probably with the assistance of Piranesi when he first arrived in Rome. The plan was dedicated to Robert Adam and Piranesi had worked on it from 1757 (this date appears on plate 5, on the top left medaillon) the publication of the book in 1762. It started life as a separate map with adjoining bird’s eye views (see Pasquali 2016) and then was incorporated into the volume where it was originally a fold-out plate (plates V-X).
The BSR is fortunate to have this first state plan from 1757-60, as well as a copy of the later second state plan. The first state is much rarer, which is probably the reason why its existence went unnoticed by Piranesi scholars until 2022. The differences between the two states are limited to the way in which the six circuses that Piranesi includes within the area of the map (some with none or uncertain supporting data) were depicted. The first state examined here shows a variety of treatments to the starting gates - the carceres - laid out with fanciful and impractical forms and the boundaries of the circuses are open in several places, connecting them to the surrounding porticoes and other public areas of the city. It has been shown that it was Piranesi’s encounter with the standing ruins of the carceres at the Circus of Maxentius on the via Appia and with the scholarship of Raffaele Fabretti that led to his radical alteration of the copper plates. He adopted the layout visible at the circus of Maxentius and as published by Fabretti - a much simpler and logical plan - for all the circuses and in the second state they can be clearly seen to be identical. At the same time he altered the copper plates of the plan of the Forum and Palatine in the area of the Circus Maximus in the same places and for the same reason - archaeological accuracy.
This author has written an essay on the subject of this first state, to be published in Papers of the BSR in 2024.
The second state has been already catalogued in 2021 exhibition – see XL.611.P.13-08_13.
BSR Library collection shelfmark: 609.2.75.1 [framed copy]
Focillon no. 440
Wilton-Ely no. 571 (second state)
Bibliography
Fabretti, R. (1638) De columna Trajani syntagma … & emissarii Lacus Fucini descriptio. Romae: Ex officinâ Nicolai Angeli Tinassij, pp. 144-151
Mariani, G. (2017) in Mariani G. (ed.) Giambattista Piranesi: matrici incise, 1761-1765. Vol. 3. Roma: Editalia, nos. 103, 104, 105, 106, 107 and 108 with essay, pp. 302-304
Pasquali, S. (2016) ‘Piranesi’s Campo Marzio as described in 1757’, in Nevola, F. (ed.) Giovanni Battista Piranesi: predecessori, contemporanei e successori: studi in onore di John Wilton Ely. Roma: Quasar, pp. 179-190
Connors, J. (2011) Piranesi and the Campus Martius, the missing Corso: topography and archaeology in eighteenth-century Rome. Milano: Jaca Book
Istituto Centrale per la Grafica
How to quote this page:
Ichnographiam Campi Martii Antiquae Urbis, from Campus Martius antiquae Urbis (first state). Author(s) of this publication: Clare Hornsby. Publishing date: 12/06/2024 URL: https://ipervisions.digitalcollections.bsr.ac.uk/piranesi-project-may-2024/?slide=28 Date visited: