Artwork Details
22-3/8 x 16-3/8 in. (image) 29-1/4 x 21-7/8 in. (sheet)
Mark DescriptionSigned
Accession NumberCarl H. Lieber Memorial Fund
CopyrightPrints, Drawings, and Photographs
Color PaletteMrs. Lucius B. Swift; bequeathed to the John Herron Art Institute, Indianapolis, Indiana, now the Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields, in 1941.
Piranesi's "imaginary prisons"-impressive, oppressive galleries, supported by arcades of stone and brick and littered with abandoned architectural fragments- were inspired by Roman constructions that, 2000 years later, still served as substructures of more modern buildings.
Beneath the church of S. Giusseppe dei Falegnani lay one such place, the original Carcer itself, the subterranean prison near the Roman Forum where the condemned, including legendarily St. Peter, were incarcerated, and where, it was written in the first century B.C.: "Neglect, darkness and stench make it hideous and fearsome to behold."
Exhibition Name
Venue
Dates
The Viewing Project: Wondering About Space
Indianapolis Museum of Art
December 21, 2009 - June 20, 2010
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