PIRANESI, GIOVANNI BATTISTA


Meaning of PIRANESI, GIOVANNI BATTISTA in English

or Giambattista Piranesi

born Oct. 4, 1720, Mestre, near Venice

died Nov. 9, 1778, Rome, Papal States

Italian draftsman, printmaker, architect, and art theorist.

He went to Rome at 20 as a draftsman for the Venetian ambassador. After settling there in 1747, he developed a highly original etching technique that produced rich textures and bold contrasts of light and shadow. His many prints of Classical and post-Classical Roman structures contributed to the growth of Classical archaeology and the Neoclassical art movement. He is best known today for his extraordinary series of imaginary prisons ( Carceri d'invenzione , 1745). His prints are among the most impressive architectural representations in Western art.

Britannica Concise Encyclopedia.      Краткая энциклопедия Британика.