Chimneypiece in the Egyptian style: Groups of three female nudes at the base of each jamb, surmounted by larger kneeling figures
Original title: Chimneypiece in the Egyptian style: Groups of three female nudes at the base of each jamb, surmounted by larger kneeling figures), from Diverse Maniere d'adornare i cammini ed ogni altra parte degli edifizi...(Different Ways of ornamenting chimneypieces and all other parts of houses)
kurzbeschreibung
Around 1769 Giovanni Battista Piranesi made this etching of a chimney piece in the Egyptian style. It belongs to his series 'Diverse Maniere d'adornare i cammini ed ogni altra parte degli edifizi' and sets out an ornamental design idea for fireplaces and other architectural elements.
Description
An open fireplace anchors the sheet, a thin thread of smoke rising from it. Lions on pedestals flank the opening; above them stand figures in Egyptian dress, with headdresses and crossed arms. Larger kneeling forms rise over these. Columns and reliefs bearing hieroglyphs and Egyptian symbols frame the whole. The layout is symmetrical and clearly ordered, the rendering held in monochrome greys.
Context
The etching was made as a contribution to Piranesi's series 'Diverse Maniere d'adornare i cammini', published in 1769 and devoted to the design of fireplaces and other building parts. Interest in Egyptian art and culture was growing in Europe at the time, encouraged by archaeological discoveries. Piranesi, famous for his architectural fantasies, here joined ancient Egyptian motifs to design ideas of his own day.
Impact
The symmetrical arrangement and finely differentiated lines give the sheet a balanced, decorative presence. Through its Egyptian elements the fireplace takes on an exotic, monumental air that carries the viewer back to a distant past.
Technique
The print is an etching: the drawing is scratched into a copper plate coated with wax and then bitten with acid. With fine lines and hatching Piranesi achieved detail and shadow. The work is printed on paper; the sheet measures 38 x 55 cm, the plate 25 x 38.2 cm.
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Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)