Giovanni Battista Piranesi
The grand piazza - Carcere IV

Artwork Detail
Nowhere was Piranesi more theatrical than in his remarkable depictions of prisons. Gloomy caverns open onto a warren of tunnels, arches, bridges, and vast buttresses, criss-crossed by great ropes and chains, suggesting grim tortures. They influenced stage designers in the latter part of the 18th century, as well as the romantic movement in the 19th century. Théophile Gautier wanted to stage Hamlet in such a setting, while Thomas de Quincey compared them to his own drug-induced deliriums.
- Title
- The grand piazza - Carcere IV
- Artist/creator
- Production date
- 1760-1761
- Medium
- etching
- Dimensions
- 415 x 550 mm
- Credit line
- Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, purchased 1961
- Accession no
- 1961/6
- 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.