The Round Tower, from "Carceri d'invenzione" (Imaginary Prisons)ca. 1749–50
A great circular tower rises within a cavernous prison, ringed by stairs, galleries and beams that lead nowhere certain. More about this work
About this work
A great circular tower rises within a cavernous prison, ringed by stairs, galleries and beams that lead nowhere certain. This impression is of the first state, printed around 1749–50, when Piranesi’s Imaginary Prisons were still airy and sketch-like, etched with a free, rapid line that owes much to stage design. A decade later he reworked the plates with heavy shading and added detail, turning them into darker, more oppressive visions. An early state like this reveals the bold improvisation at the heart of the series.
Written by Ochre Editions.
How it was made
- Etching
- The artist draws with a needle through a waxy coating on a copper plate, and acid bites the exposed lines. The plate is then inked, wiped and printed under pressure, so the line keeps the freedom of drawing.
- Engraving
- Lines cut directly into a metal plate with a steel burin, which makes them swell and taper. It took years to master, and for centuries it was how paintings travelled as pictures.
Giovanni Battista Piranesi
Italian, 1720–1778 · Born in Mogliano Veneto; died in Rome.
Piranesi trained in Venice as an architect and stage designer before moving to Rome in 1740, where he spent the rest of his life. He is known above all for his etchings: the Views of Rome, more than a hundred large plates of ancient ruins and modern buildings, and the Imaginary Prisons, vast fantastical interiors of stairs, arches and machinery. A passionate champion of Roman architecture, he also published archaeological studies and designed the church of Santa Maria del Priorato.
Written by Ochre Editions.
Rights and the museum’s record
Public domain. The Met has dedicated this image to the public domain under CC0, so anyone may copy, adapt and use it, for any purpose, without asking. Our prints and files are reproductions made from the museum’s image; the museum doesn’t endorse them.
- Object number
- 37.45.3(27)
- Credit
- Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
- Type
- Prints
- Department
- Drawings and Prints
- Licence
- CC0 1.0 Universal
- Museum record
- See it on the museum’s site
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