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Giovanni Battista Piranesi

Interior of a Tavern in Pompeii, ca. 1775

Now On View

Description

Maker

  • Giovanni Battista Piranesi, 1720-1778, Italian, printmaker

Title

Interior of a Tavern in Pompeii

Year

ca. 1775

Medium

Reed pen and ink on laid paper

Materials/Techniques

Materials

  • reed pen

Supports

  • paper

Dimensions

40.8 x 53.5 cm (16 1/8 x 21 1/8 inches)

Signature / Inscription / Marks

Verso: inscribed in pen an ink in an 18th-century hand:"Tav. 27" and "veduta interna della Taberna situata nella Strada che conduce alla Porta della Citta' e' sta' a man sinistra prima della Casa del Chierurgo" [sic]

Stamped with collector's mark of Ludwig Hermann Philippi (1848-1908; Lugt 1335)

Type

  • Works on Paper,
  • Drawings and Watercolors

Credit

Gift of Henry D. Sharpe

Object Number

52.039

Projects & Publications

Publications

Old Master Drawings from the Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design

Exhibition History

Exhibition History

Drawing Closer

March 12 - September 4, 2022

Giovanni Battista Piranesi executed this strikingly bold drawing with a reed pen—a blunter, coarser tool than a quill pen. An architect and printmaker, Piranesi quickly sketched the interior of a Roman tavern on site at the recently excavated city of Pompeii, identified by an annotation on the verso. The clarity of the archaeological remains contrasts with the rough, loose marks used for the walls and background. The wiry, animated figure—there to provide a sense of scale—also heightens the sense of drama at the discovery of the well-preserved ancient interior.

Old Master Drawings

September 2 - October 16, 1983

Italian Drawings from the Museum's Collection

March 17 - April 16, 1961

The Age of Canova

November 6 - December 15, 1957

Italian Drawings of the 16th Century--18th Century, Recently Acquired

October 22, 1952 - January 6, 1953

Use

The images on this website can enable discovery and collaboration and support new scholarship, and we encourage their use. This object is in the public domain (CC0 1.0). This object is Interior of a Tavern in Pompeii with the accession number of 52.039. To request high-resolution files or new photography, please send an email to imagerequest@risd.edu and include your name and the object's accession number.

Feedback

We view our online collection as a living documents, and our records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you have additional information or have spotted an error, please send feedback to curatorial@risd.edu.

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