Parti in grande restaurati de' Trofei de Ottaviano Augusto
Original title: Parti in grande restaurati de' Trofei de Ottaviano Augusto (Restored detail of the Trophy of Octavian Augusto)
kurzbeschreibung
Around 1753 Francesco Piranesi etched fragments of the restored trophy monument of Octavian Augustus. This black-and-white etching reproduces Roman reliefs with figural and ornamental motifs, drawn with exceptionally precise linework.
Description
A plumed helmet with a crouching archer perched on top closes the arrangement at the bottom. Above it sit two relief fragments: at left a curly-haired human figure wearing a leaf wreath amid floral ornament, at right a symmetrical decorative panel with two animals facing each other among stylised tendrils. A text field with explanations occupies the lower left corner. The layout is clearly ordered, and shading comes from lines of varying depth. One more fragment with an animal motif completes the grouping.
Context
The son of the well-known Giovanni Battista Piranesi, Francesco made this sheet for a series of etchings recording ancient Roman monuments. The trophy monument of Octavian Augustus in Rome commemorated the victory at Actium. Engaging with Roman antiquity and documenting it was a central concern of art at the time.
Impact
The meticulous execution lets the monumentality of the ancient reliefs come through. With the fragments laid out legibly and lit evenly, the print reads as factual and documentary; it invites the viewer to look closely.
Technique
An etching: in this intaglio process the drawing is bitten into a metal plate previously treated with acid. Lines of differing depth produce the fine shading and the exact rendering of the relief structures. The sheet displays the assured command of the technique characteristic of Piranesi.
AI-generated description text
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)