The Round Tower

Due to required maintenance, some galleries and artwork may be off view. Learn more

Currently not on view

The Round Tower

c. 1749

Giovanni Battista Piranesi (Italian, 1720–1778) Published by Giovanni Bouchard, Rome

Piranesi combined several etching methods to create a series of sixteen prints of imaginary prisons. Poets and authors have described the artist’s provocative dungeons not as physical structures but nightmarish prisons of the mind where endless staircases, unending cloisters, pits, platforms, racks, and chains represent incomprehensible states of guilt and anxiety.

Seemingly conjuring the mysterious architecture like an alchemist, Piranesi applied corrosive chemicals directly on the copper plates and in some cases rubbed their surfaces with a very fine abrasive to generate variant areas of smoky gray tone. First-state impressions (printed from the initial versions of the plates) such as the one shown here is filled with pentimenti (repentances). These “painter’s mistakes,” where initial ideas remain visible adjacent to the artist’s alterations, underscore the synergy of Piranesi’s powerful imagination and creative process.

Currently not on view

Object Details

Titles:

The Round Tower
From the Carceri d'invenzione (Imaginary Prisons), first edition, first issue, Rome, 1749-50

Date:

c. 1749

Artists:

Giovanni Battista Piranesi (Italian, 1720–1778) Published by Giovanni Bouchard, Rome

Medium:

Etching and engraving

Dimensions:

Plate: 21 1/4 x 16 1/4 inches (54 x 41.2 cm) Sheet: 21 7/8 x 16 3/4 inches (55.5 x 42.5 cm)

Classification:

Prints

Credit Line:

The Muriel and Philip Berman Gift, acquired from the John S. Phillips bequest of 1876 to the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, with funds contributed by Muriel and Philip Berman, gifts (by exchange) of Lisa Norris Elkins, Bryant W. Langston, Samuel S. White 3rd and Vera White, with additional funds contributed by John Howard McFadden, Jr., Thomas Skelton Harrison, and the Philip H. and A.S.W. Rosenbach Foundation, 1985

Accession Number:

1985-52-1301

Geography:

Made in Rome, Italy, Europe

We are always open to learning more about our collections and updating the website. Does this record contain inaccurate information or language that you feel we should improve or change? Contact us here.

Please note that this particular artwork might not be on view when you visit. Don’t worry—we have plenty of exhibitions for you to explore.

Currently not on view

More like this:

1/12