Giovanni Battista Piranesi

Sepolcro delle tre fratelli Curiati in Albano (Tomb of the three Curiatii brother in Albano)

Sepolcro delle tre fratelli Curiati in Albano (Tomb of the three Curiatii brother in Albano) by Giovanni Battista Piranesi

Artwork Detail

In Piranesi's day this tomb was believed to be that of the Horatii and Curatii brothers, but this has now been discounted. Its form is extremely unusual, architecturally, and it has been compared to the Etruscan cinerary urns that can be found at Volterra. The truncated cones sit on a high, square base of large blocks of peperino, a type of volcanic rock or tufa found in the Aiban Hills near Rome, which was used by early Romans as a building stone, and for the basins of fountains.

Title
Sepolcro delle tre fratelli Curiati in Albano (Tomb of the three Curiatii brother in Albano)
Artist/creator
Giovanni Battista Piranesi
Production date
1765
Medium
etching
Dimensions
417 x 540 mm
Credit line
Mackelvie Trust Collection, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, bequest of Dr Walter Auburn, 1982
Accession no
M1982/1/4/29
Other ID
049 Auburn Catalogue
Copyright
No known copyright restrictions
Department
International Art
Display status
Not on display

To find out which artworks are available for print requests and reproduction please enquire here. This service only applies to select artworks in the Gallery's collection.