Piranesi's Prisons: Legacy and Context

Exhibition Website

Apr 26 2018 - Sep 9 2018

Piranesi’s Prisons: Legacy and Context showcases Giovanni Battista Piranesi’s large-scale architectural etchings, Carceri d’Invenzione or Prisons of Invention, from the Chrysler’s collection.

The 1761 series is a monument in the history of art and includes some of the most well-known etchings in the world. Instead of depicting real prisons, the Italian artist used impossible, complex spaces along with heavy stone walls, and wooden beams, to create an experience far more punishing than bars and gates could suggest.

The exhibition will also include a number of other Piranesi prints in the Chrysler’s collection, from the Antichità Romane, the Grotteschi, and others.

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website

  • Works on Paper
  • European
  • 18th Century
  • Architecture
  • Giovanni Battista Piranesi

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