Piranesi - Giovanni Battista Piranesi

Italian printmaker, architect, and archaeologist. Born in Mestre near Venice, he studied stage art in Venice before moving to Rome in 1740, where he spent the rest of his life, except for a brief visit back home. His Invenzioni capric di Carceri (Fantastic Creations of Prisons), published in 1750 (retitled Carceri d'Invenzione (Prisons of the Imagination) in the expanded second edition in 1760), is famous for its dizzying depictions of gigantic prisons, created using etching, a technique in copperplate printing. From around 1745, he produced a series of prints depicting Roman landscapes as souvenirs for tourists, but he soon developed an archaeological interest in ancient Rome, and published Antichita romane (Remains of Rome), a four-volume work, in 1756. He also participated in the debate over which of the two ancient cultures, Greece and Rome, was superior, and in 1861 he published De Romanorum Magnificentia et Architettura (The Magnificence and Architecture of Rome). His works often use dramatic expressions, such as extreme perspectives that create depth at an angle, and strong contrasts of light and shadow, which are in keeping with the stage art he learned in his youth. Therefore, even when his works depict real scenes or archaeological reconstructions, they often have a fantastical quality, as seen in his fantastical paintings and imaginary landscapes, as exemplified by Prisons. Because of this fantastical quality, Piranesi's works had a great influence on the overall formation of the image of classical antiquity by artists, especially in northern Europe, and became a source of inspiration for subsequent Romantic art.

[Kuraya Mika]

"Piranesi and the Splendor of Ancient Rome" by Peter Murray, translated by Shigetake Nagao (1990, Chuokoron-Bijutsu Shuppan)" ▽ "The World of Piranesi" by Satoshi Okada (1993, Maruzen)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

イタリアの版画家、建築家、考古学者。ベネチア近郊のメストレに生まれ、ベネチアで舞台美術を学んだ後、1740年にローマに移り、以後一時の帰郷を除いて生涯をローマで送った。50年に出版した『牢獄の奇想にみちた創造』Invenzioni capric di Carceri（1760年の増補第2版で『想像の牢獄』Carceri d'Invenzioneと改題）は、銅版画の技法の一つであるエッチングにより、めまいを誘うような巨大な牢獄の情景を描いて有名である。1745年ごろより観光客の土産(みやげ)用にローマの景観を描いた連作版画を制作するが、やがて古代ローマへの考古学的関心を深め、56年に4巻からなる『ローマの遺跡』Antichita romaneを出版する。また、ギリシアとローマの二つの古代文化の優劣を争う論争にも参加、ローマの優位を訴え、61年に『ローマの壮麗と建築』De Romanorum Magnificentia et Architetturaを出版した。その作品には、斜めに奥行を出した極端な遠近法や、強い光と影のコントラストなど、若いころ学んだ舞台美術の流れをくむ劇的な表現がしばしば用いられる。そのため、たとえ現実の情景を描いたものや考古学的復元図であっても、『牢獄』に代表される奇想画や想像の景観画のもつ幻想味を帯びていることが多い。ピラネージの諸作品はこの幻想味ゆえに、とくに北ヨーロッパの芸術家たちの古典古代に対するイメージの形成全体に大きな影響を与え、続くロマン主義美術の霊感源ともなった。

［蔵屋美香］

『ピーター・マレー著、長尾重武訳『ピラネージと古代ローマの壮麗』（1990・中央公論美術出版）』▽『岡田哲史著『ピラネージの世界』（1993・丸善）』

出典　小学館　日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)について　情報 | 凡例