![]() ![]() I discuss three possible sources of meaning: the combination of architectural elements out of proportion the difficulty of building a unitary space and the 'bottom perspective' that gives rise to a sensation of floating. I suggest here a fruitful integration of this analysis, developed by considering various particular perceptual and geometric cues. Analysis of these texts provides a rich set of aesthetic and psychological attributes as well as detailed indications of where to seek the source of the meanings. How did Piranesi generate such a powerful source of meaning? I have reviewed a number of contributions by art essayists in the search for what lies behind the fascination of the 'Carceri'. Today they are considered the best expression of bewilderment, of the world's massive oppression of man. They also made an impact in later artistic and literary contexts. In his earlier work, he developed architectural fantasies and dark visions of imaginary prisons, the Carceri d'Invenzione (Imaginary Prisons), which have fascinated people ever since they first appeared. He spent his lifetime recording the magnificent buildings and ruins of ancient Rome. "Invenzioni capric di carceri: The Prisons of Giovanni Battista Piranesi (1720-1778)," Getty Research Journal 2 (2010): 153.ġ7Marchesano, “Invenzioni capric di carceri,” 151.Piranesi was an extraordinarily talented artist who came to be considered the best known engraver and etcher of the 18th century. 17ġ4Lucchi, Lowe, Pavanello, The arts of Piranesi, 125.ġ5Marchesano, Louis. ![]() The prisons of I Carceri stand out as one of his major achievements. For example, in Italy, a popular representation of the sublime involved depictions of Mount Vesuvius erupting, a terrific and devastating event. The images presented by these plates would have been deeply haunting to his audience as an expression of the sublime, a style founded in the emotion of terror which was becoming fashionable in the art world. 16 In these prints, Piranesi demonstrated an investment in a unique visual experience for the viewer, evidenced by the tug of war between light and shadow. No other prints by Piranesi force the eye to move so deeply inward and upward. Piranesi’s dabbling in stage design must have also been an influence in the invention of I Carceri, as the fantasy and narrative of such architecture is omnipresent. 15 The second edition of I Carceri was inspired by his obsession with archaeology and antiquity and was influenced by the impressions he gathered in Rome. I Carceri allowed Piranesi an experimental outlet with which he ventured into his interests of scale and monumentality. In his essay on Piranesis etchings Carceri, Adlous Huxley begins with a short history of prisons, in which he borrows largely from Jeremy Benthams. Piranesi betrays the rules of perspective and even hides important elements of the architecture itself when his etched lines fade into the edges of the paper. In I Carceri, Piranesi never presents an entire building, nor does he ever give enough information to distinguish the complete form of the structures, as in The Pier with Chains. In both pieces, there is a sense of cluttered and claustrophobic space, endlessly extending structures, and impossible structures. The Man on the Rack and The Pier with Chains, representative examples of I Carceri, both contain large cavities of space and gigantic pillars, buttresses, walls, and arches. ![]() 14 These pieces represented unrealistic architectural structures that have little to do with actual prisons. In I Carceri, Piranesi explored the possibilities of perspective and spatial illusion while pushing the medium of etching to its limits. Piranesi created the series of convoluted prison interiors, I Carceri, after being influenced by his upbringing in the printmaking scene in Venice. ![]()
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