Giovanni Battista Piranesi

View of the pyramidal Tomb of Cestius (Veduta del Sepolcro di Cajo Cestio)

Maker

Giovanni Battista Piranesi (Italian, 1720-1778)

Title

View of the pyramidal Tomb of Cestius (Veduta del Sepolcro di Cajo Cestio)
from Vedute di Roma (Views of Rome)

Year

1755

Medium

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

Materials

etching

Supports

Dimensions

Plate: 40.8 x 54.3 cm (16 1/16 x 21 3/8 inches)

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Gift of Mrs. Jesse H. Metcalf

Object Number

16.593

Type

Publications

Exhibition History

The Theatre That Was Rome
Apr 09, 2004 – Jul 11, 2004

Label copy

Piranesi made four etchings of this very popular monument of Roman antiquity, the pyramidal tomb of Caius Cestius, an official during the reign of emperor Augustus (27 BCE-14 CE). Built before the year 12 BCE, the tomb became incorporated into the ancient Aurelian Wall surrounding the city, and it was restored in 1663. Piranesi shows the perfect geometry of the pyramid while using the texture of the stonework on the sides to present the tomb as a magnificent but weather-beaten survivor of the ages, emphasizing his concern for the care of the city’s antiquities.

Venetian Drawings and Prints of the 18th Century
Jan 12, 1967 – Feb 05, 1967

Image use

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Public Domain This object is in the Public Domain and available under a CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication

Tombstone

Giovanni Battista Piranesi (Italian, 1720-1778)
View of the pyramidal Tomb of Cestius (Veduta del Sepolcro di Cajo Cestio); from Vedute di Roma (Views of Rome), 1755
Etching on paper
Plate: 40.8 x 54.3 cm (16 1/16 x 21 3/8 inches)
Gift of Mrs. Jesse H. Metcalf 16.593

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