Nelle Carceri di G. B. Piranesi

Silvia Gavuzzo-Stewart

Cover of Nelle Carceri di G. B. Piranesi

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Italian Perspectives 2

Legenda

31 October 1999  •  168pp

ISBN: 978-1-902653-00-6 (paperback, forthcoming)

EnlightenmentItalianArt

G. B. Piranesi is one of the most inventive artists of the eighteenth century. The Carceri, or Prisons, are a set of etchings believed by many to be Piranesi's most original work. The extraordinary evocative power of the Carceri has fascinated many writers. Some have interpreted the Carceri as dreams, as nightmares, as disturbing allegories of human life. In this book, mostly through an analysis of the Latin quotations contained in the etchings, it is argued that Piranesi grants a metaphorical meaning to the Carceri in order to imprison those he saw as obstructing the Arts and threatening his own freedom. G. B. Piranesi è uno dei più geniali artisti del Settecento. Le Carceri sono una serie di incisioni, da molti ritenuta la sua opera più originale. Con il loro straordinario potere evocativo le Carceri hanno affascinato numerosi scrittori. Molti ne hanno parlato come di sogni, di incubi, di inquietanti allegorie della vita umana. Qui, soprattutto attraverso lanalisi delle citazioni latine contenute nellopera, si sottolinea come Piranesi faccia un uso metaforico delle Carceri tra laltro per imprigionare chi, secondo il suo parere, ostacolava le Arti, minacciando la sua stessa dignità di libero artista.

Bibliography entry:

Gavuzzo-Stewart, Silvia, Nelle Carceri di G. B. Piranesi, Italian Perspectives, 2 (Legenda, 1999)

First footnote reference: 35 Silvia Gavuzzo-Stewart, Nelle Carceri di G. B. Piranesi, Italian Perspectives, 2 (Legenda, 1999), p. 21.

Subsequent footnote reference: 37 Gavuzzo-Stewart, p. 47.

(To see how these citations were worked out, follow this link.)

Bibliography entry:

Gavuzzo-Stewart, Silvia. 1999. Nelle Carceri di G. B. Piranesi, Italian Perspectives, 2 (Legenda)

Example citation: ‘A quotation occurring on page 21 of this work’ (Gavuzzo-Stewart 1999: 21).

Example footnote reference: 35 Gavuzzo-Stewart 1999: 21.

(To see how these citations were worked out, follow this link.)

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