The Italian architect and engraver Giovanni Battista Piranesi (1720-1778) was born in Venice. He started taking drawing lessons at an early age, and was primarily influenced by the work of architect Palladio. At the age of eighteen years old, he moved to Rome with an ardent desire to know the Eternal City and worked as draughtsman at the service of the Venetian embassy to the Vatican. In Rome, Piranesi studied engraving under Giuseppe Vasi, with whom he later clashed. An impulsive, ambitious and prolific artist, Piranesi worked in harmony with his time, as he was always drawn to and cultivated the dramatic, the inspired and the spectacular.

As with the work of French architect David Leroy (1724-1803), the technique and art of Piranesi's drawings aim to make an impact the viewer. A strong impression, which it is the artist's duty to convey, is deemed more important than precision in representation. Piranesi is among the most dynamic exponents of Neoclassicism; at the same time, he belongs to early Romanticism as well, as the remains of classical civilisations become the cause of poetic emotion.

Piranesi also visited Naples, where he depicted the local antiquities with passion and admiration, and created several copper moulds of his works. He returned to Venice in 1744, where he refined his engraving skills. It was there that he published his first major work “Carceri di invenzione” (“Fictitious prisons”, 1750, 1761 and 1780). The uncanny as well as evocative spaces of the prisons invented by Piranesi disturb the viewer and constitute a lasting influence on visual artists, writers and architects from his time to the present.

Later in his life, Piranesi returned to Rome, where he worked mainly as an engraver and painter and less as an architect. His “Monuments of Rome”, made a great impact on his contemporaries. In contrast to the contemporary intellectual atmosphere, and while scholars (such as Winkelmann, Ramsey, Stuart, Revett) direct their attention to Greece, which they see as the primary inspiration of Roman architecture, Piranesi sustained that the Etruscans, a people older than the Greeks, were the first to achieve aesthetic perfection. His ideas provoked a debate among European scholars, and opened new pathways to the study of ancient legacy.

The two thousand copper engravings drawn and etched by Piranesi in his lifetime were published posthumously in Paris by his sons, in a monumental edition (1835-1837). Approximately one hundred and fifty years later, Taschen publications collected the majority of Piranesi's engravings in a work accessible to the great public. Thus the the “Fictitious prisons”, the “Monuments of Rome” and the “Antiquities of Paestum” were gathered in a polished edition, extremely useful to the public and to students of various branches of knowledge.

Written by Ioli Vingopoulou

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  Title page.

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  Title page of the first part of the edition.

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  Title page of the first part of the edition.

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  View of sculpture gallery in Rome (imaginary depiction).

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  View of prison in Rome (imaginary depiction).

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  Remains of monumental buildings in Rome.

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  Remains of mausoleum in Rome (imaginary depiction).

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  Imaginary depiction of bridge, probably Milvio bridge, in Rome.

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  Hall of public building of the Roman period, Rome (imaginary depiction).

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  Imaginary depiction of Capitoline Hill in Rome. On the left, the temple of Jupiter. At the centre, mounted statue of Marcus Aurelius. In the background, on the right, modern buildings situated on the hill.

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  Imaginary depiction of stairways in Rome.

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  Imaginary depiction of palace with columns, in Rome.

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  Imaginary depiction of entrance to ancient temple, Rome.

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  Imaginary depiction of part of the Roman forum, Rome.

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  Imaginary depiction of Doric stoa, Rome.

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  Imaginary depiction of tetrapylon and fountain at Doric portico in Rome.

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  Imaginary depiction of Roman temple, Rome.

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  Imaginary depiction of Roman mausoleum, Rome.

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  Imaginary depiction of Roman altar.

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  Imaginary depiction of funerary chamber at Roman mausoleum.

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  Title page of the first edition of Piranesi's “Carceri d'invenzione” (1749-50).

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  Title page of the second edition of Piranesi's “Carceri d'invenzione” (c. 1761).

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  Man in the rack. Depiction of torture from Piranesi's "Carceri d'invenzione".

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  Round Tower. Fictitious prison space from the first edition of Piranesi's "Carceri d'invenzione" (1749/50).

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  Round Tower. Fictitious prison space from the second edition of Piranesi's "Carceri d'invenzione"(c. 1761).

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  The Grand Piazza (Great Square): Fictitious prison space from the first edition of Piranesi's "Carceri d'invenzione" (1749/50).

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  The Grand Piazza (Great Square): Fictitious prison space from the second edition of Piranesi's "Carceri d'invenzione" (1761).

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  Lion Bas-Relief. Fictitious prison space from Piranesi's "Carceri d'invenzione".

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  The Smoking Fire. Fictitious prison space from the first edition of Piranesi's "Carceri d'invenzione" (1749/50).

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  The Smoking Fire. Fictitious prison space from the second edition of Piranesi's "Carceri d'invenzione" (1761).

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  The Drawbridge. Fictitious prison space from the first edition of Piranesi's "Carceri d'invenzione" (1749/50).

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  The Drawbridge. Fictitious prison space from the second edition of Piranesi's "Carceri d'invenzione" (1761).

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  Staircase with Trophies. Fictitious prison space from the first edition of Piranesi's "Carceri d'invenzione" (1749/50).

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  Staircase with Trophies. Fictitious prison space from the second edition of Piranesi's "Carceri d'invenzione" (1761).

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  The Giant Wheel. Fictitious prison space from the first edition of Piranesi's "Carceri d'invenzione" (1749/50).

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  The Giant Wheel. Fictitious prison space from the second edition of Piranesi's "Carceri d'invenzione" (1761).

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  Prisoners on a projecting platform. Fictitious prison space from the first edition of Piranesi's "Carceri d'invenzione" (1749/50).

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  Prisoners on a projecting platform. Fictitious prison space from the second edition of Piranesi's "Carceri d'invenzione" (1761).

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  Arch with a shell ornament. Fictitious prison space from the first edition of Piranesi's "Carceri d'invenzione" (1749/50).

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  Arch with a shell ornament. Fictitious prison space from the second edition of Piranesi's "Carceri d'invenzione" (1761).

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  Sawhorse: Fictitious prison space from the first edition of Piranesi's "Carceri d'invenzione" (1749/50).

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  Sawhorse: Fictitious prison space from the second edition of Piranesi's "Carceri d'invenzione" (1761).

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  The Well: Fictitious prison space from the first edition of Piranesi's "Carceri d'invenzione" (1749/50).

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  The Well: Fictitious prison space from the second edition of Piranesi's "Carceri d'invenzione" (1761).

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  Gothic Arch: Fictitious prison space from the first edition of Piranesi's "Carceri d'invenzione" (1749/50).

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  Gothic Arch: Fictitious prison space from the second edition of Piranesi's "Carceri d'invenzione" (1761).

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  Pier with a Lamp: Fictitious prison space from the first edition of Piranesi's "Carceri d'invenzione" (1749/50).

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  Pier with a Lamp: Fictitious prison space from the second edition of Piranesi's "Carceri d'invenzione" (1761).

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  Pier with Chains: Fictitious prison space from the first edition of Piranesi's "Carceri d'invenzione" (1749/50).

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  Pier with Chains: Fictitious prison space from the second edition of Piranesi's "Carceri d'invenzione" (1761).

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  Frontispiece: The interior of the second temple of Hera at Paestum.

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  Remains of the walls of Paestum. In the background, the two temples of Hera and the temple of Athena.

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  View of the first temple of Hera at Paestum.

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  View of the opisthodomos of the first temple of Hera at Paestum. In the background, the second temple of Hera.

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  Side view of the first temple of Hera at Paestum. On the right, the second temple of Hera.

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  View of the pronaos of the first temple of Hera at Paestum.

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  View of the first temple of Hera at Paestum.

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  View of the interior of the first temple of Hera at Paestum.

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  View of the interior of the first temple of Hera at Paestum.

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  View of the interior of the first temple of Hera at Paestum.

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  Second temple of Hera at Paestum.

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  Second temple of Hera at Paestum.

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  View of the interior of the second temple of Hera at Paestum.

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  View of the interior of the second temple of Hera at Paestum.

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  View of the pronaos of the second temple of Hera at Paestum.

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  View of the opisthodomos of the second temple of Hera at Paestum.

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  View of the interior of the second temple of Hera at Paestum.

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  View of the interior of the second temple of Hera at Paestum.

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  View of the interior of the second temple of Hera at Paestum.

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  Temple of Athena, Paestum.

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  Side view of the temple of Athena, Paestum.

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  Interior of the temple of Athena at Paestum.

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  Title page.

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  Frontispiece: Composition of Roman antiquities.

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  Saint Peter's Basilica, Rome.

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  View of the interior of Saint Peter's Basilica, Rome.

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  Interior of the Basilica of San Paolo fuori le Mura (Saint Paul outside the Walls), Rome.

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  View of the basilica of San Giovanni Laterano, Rome.

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  View of the basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, Rome.

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  View of Piazza del Popolo, Rome. In the foreground, the Obelisk of Ramses II. In the background, the basilicas of Santa Maria in Montesano and Santa Maria dei Miracoli.

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  View of the Piazza del Quirinale, Rome. The centre, the Dioscuri fountain.

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  View of Piazza Navona, Rome. In the foreground, the Fountain of Neptune. In the background, the Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi with the Obelisk of Domitian.

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  View of Piazza della Rotonda, Rome. On the right, the Pantheon. At the centre, the fountain and the obelisk.

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  Fontana di Trevi, Rome.

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  Pyramid of Cestius, Rome.

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  View of the Capitoline Hill, Rome.

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  View of the Roman Agora, Rome. On the foreground, on the left, the arch of Septimus Severus.

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  The remains of Domus Aurea, Nero's palace in Rome.

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  The Column of Trajan at Trajan's forum, Rome.

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  The column of Marcus Aurelius at Piazza Colonna, Rome.

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  Arch of Constantine and the Colosseum, Rome.

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  Saint Peter's Basilica, Rome.

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  Piazza di Spagna, Rome. At the centre, the Fontana della Barcacchia.

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  Ripetta quay on Tiber river, Rome.

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  Castel Sant'Angelo or Mausoleum of Hadrian, Rome. In the background, Saint Peter's Basilica.

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  Theatre of Marcellus, Rome.

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  Interior of the church and mausoleum of Santa Costanza Rome.

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  View of the Roman Forum, Rome.

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  Part of the portico at the Divo Claudio temple complex, Rome.

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  Remains of the dining room at Domus Aurea, Nero's palace in Rome.

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  The temple of Portunus, formerly called temple of Fortuna Virilis, Rome. In the 16th century, the temple was converted into the church of Santa Maria Egiziaca.

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  Side view of the church of San Lorenzo, built on the site of the temple of Antoninus and Faustina in Rome.

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  The Obelisk of Touthmose III in front of San Giovanni di Laterano Basilica, Rome.

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  Arch of Septimus Severus, Rome.

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  Main entrance to the Portico of Octavia in Rome, in the 18th century.

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  Main entrance to the Portico of Octavia in Rome, in the 18th century.

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  Side colonnade of the temple of Hadrian in Rome.

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  View of the Nymphaeum of Alexander or Trofei di Mario, Rome.

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  Castel Sant'Angelo or Mausoleum of Hadrian, Rome.

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  View of the basilica of San Paolo fuori le Mura (Saint Paul outside the walls), Rome.

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  Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, Rome.

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  Basilica of Santa Croce, Rome.

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  Acqua Paola fountain, Rome.

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  Palazzo della Consulta, Rome.

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  Palazzo Montesitorio, Rome.

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  Palazzo Mancini on the Via del Corso, Rome.

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  Palazzo Odescalchi, Rome.

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  View of Porto Ripa, main port of Rome from the 16th century onwards.

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  Salario Bridge, Rome.

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  The Forum of Nerva in Rome, 18th century.

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  Remains of temple in Rome. The engraver identifies the site as the temple of Jupiter Tonans.

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  Temple of Hercules Olivarius or Victor, Rome.

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  Church of Sant'Urbano alla Caffarella, site of the temple of Cybele and Faustina.

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  Arch of Titus, Rome.

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  Basilica of San Lorenzo fuori le Mura (Saint Laurence outside the Walls), Rome.

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  Acqua Felice or Fountain of Moses, Rome.

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  Palazzo Barberini (today National Gallery of ancient Art), Rome.

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  Capitoline Hill, Rome (imaginary depiction).

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  Pyramid of Cestius, Rome.

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  View of the Colosseum, Rome.

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  Basilica of S. Sebastiano fuori le mura (Saint Sebastian outside the Walls), Rome.

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  Pantheon, Rome.

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  View of the putative temple of Vesta at Tivoli. In the foreground, on the right, the temple of Sibylla Albunea or Tiburtine Sibyl.

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  View of the temple of Sibylla Albunea or Tiburtine Sibyl at Tivoli.

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  View of the putative temple of Vesta at Tivoli. In the foreground, on the right, the temple of Sibylla Albunea Or Tiburtine Sibyl.

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  View of Milvio bridge, Rome.

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  View of the palace of Maecenas at Tivoli.

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  The twin churches of Santa Maria di Loretto and Santissimo Nome di Maria at the Forum of Trajan, Rome.

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  View of the mausoleum of Caecilia Metella on the Appian Way, Rome.

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  View of Lugano bridge, Tivoli.

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  Monumental structure at Tivoli, called the Tempio della Tosse.

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  Interior of monumental structure at Tivoli, called the Tempio della Tosse.

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  Roman funerary monument on the intersection of the Via Appia Pignatelli and the Via Appia Nuova.

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  View of the mausoleum of Lucius Calpurnius Piso (on via Salaria) and the mausoleum of the Scipios family, which housed the sarcophagus of Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus.

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  Remains of the palace of Maecenas at Tivoli.

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  Roman nymphaeum at Esquilino, Rome, also called the temple of Minerva Medica.

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  Waterfalls at Tivoli.

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  View of the thermae of Caracalla.

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  Remains of the central hall of the Thermae of Diocletian in Rome. A large part of construction material of the hall was used to build the palace of Pope Sixtus V on Esquiline hill.

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  Interior of the Colosseum, Rome.

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  Remains of portico at the palace of Diocletian (today Barberini palace), at the village of Castel Gandolfo near lake Albano.

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  The nymphaeum of Egeria at Caffarella Park, Rome.

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  Church of Sant'Urbano alla Caffarella, site of the temple of Cybele and Faustina.

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  View of the pronaos of the Pantheon of Rome.

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  View of the mausoleum of Plautius Lucanus family, Rome.

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  Remains of the palace of Maecenas at Tivoli.

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  The temple of Apollo at Hadrian's Villa at Tivoli.

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  Interior of the Pantheon of Rome.

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  Interior of the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, Rome.

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  Interior of the church of San Giovanni di Laterano, Rome.

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  Villa Albani, Rome.

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  Remains of the Serapeum of Hadrian's Villa at Tivoli.

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  Temple of Hercules, Cori.

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  Waterfalls at Tivoli.

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  Remains of portico at the Villa of Hadrian at Tivoli.

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  Remains of stoa built according to the model of Poecile Stoa (ancient Agora of Athens), at Hadrian's villa at Tivoli.

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  Remains of portico at the Forum of Nerva, Rome.

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  Arch of Janus, Rome.

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  Arch of Constantine, Rome.

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  Arch of Titus, Rome.

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  Arch of Septimus Severus, Rome.

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  View of the Roman Forum of Rome. In the foregrounf, the temple of Castor and Pollux. In the background, the Colosseum.

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  Saint Peter's Basilica, Rome.

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  Central nave of Saint Peter's Basilica, Rome.

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  View of Piazza del Quirinale, Rome. At the centre, the fountain of the Dioscuri.

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  Fontana dei Trevi, Rome.

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  View of Villa d'Este, Tivoli.

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  Sanctuary of the Camenae, Parco Caffarella, Rome.

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  Palazzo Farnese, Rome.

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  View of Piazza Navona, Rome. In the foreground, the Fountain of Neptune. In the background, the Fontana dei Quatri Fiumi with the Egyptian obelisk known as Obelisk of Domitian.

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  View of the tempe of Saturn, at the Roman Forum of Rome.

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  View of the tempe of Saturn, at the Roman Forum of Rome.

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  Imaginary depiction of the Capitoline Hill in Rome. On the left, the temple of Jupiter. At the centre, mounted statue of Marcus Aurelius.

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  The “Philosophers' Hall” at the Poecile Stoa of Hadrian's Villa, Tivoli.

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  Remains of soldiers' barracks at Hadrian's Villa, Tivoli.

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  Remains of the dining room at Domus Aurea, Nero's palace in Rome.

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  Remains of the thermae of Diocletian, Rome.

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  Remains of the thermae of Diocletian as they are today.

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  View of the Basilica of San Giovanni di Laterano. In the foreground, the Obelisk of Touthmosis III.

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  Remains of the aqueduct of Nero, which was an extension of Aqua Claudia in Rome.

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  Panoramic view of Saint Peter's Basilica, Rome.

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  View of Tiber island.

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  View of the basilica of San Giovanni di Laterano.

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  Remains of the thermae of Titus, Rome.

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  View of Doria Pamphili villa, Rome.

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  The Palatine bridge and the mouth of Cloaca Maxima, Rome's central sewer.

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  Panoramic view of the Colosseum in Rome.

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  Remains of the thermae of Titus, Rome.

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  Vidoni Caffarelli Palace, Rome.

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  Interior of the church of Santa Maria degli Angeli, which was built on the site of the thermae of Diocletian.

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  The Mausoleum of Flavia Domitilla, daughter of Vespasian, on the Appian Way at Curti, Campania. The monument is better known as the “Conocchia” (distaff), due to its distinct shape.

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  Remains of the Serapeum at Hadrian's Villa at Tivoli.

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  Buildings surrounding the Piazza d'Oro at Hadrian's Villa at Tivoli.

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  Remains of Hadrian's private baths or Heliocaminus at his Villa at Tivoli.

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  Entrance hall at Hadrian's Villa at Tivoli.

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  The Arch of Trajan at Benevento.