Various Ionic capitals [Villa Albani, S. Clemente, S. Prassede, S. Priscia, etc.], tab. 12 from "Della Magnificenza e d'Architettura de'Romani" (On the Grandeur and the Architecture of the Romans by Gio. Battista Piranesi, Fellow of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of London)
In 1758, the French architect Julien-David Le Roy published 'Les ruines des plus beaux monuments de la Grèce' (The ruins of the most beautiful monuments of Greece) in which he proclaimed that the architectural orders were a Greek invention inherited by the Romans who imitated and subsequently debased them. Le Roy wrote of the Roman Composite order, "[I]t is only a fairly imperfect mixture of the Ionic and Corinthian and by altering the proportions of the column from the Doric order and by multiplying the moldings of its entablature, they have perhaps made it lose a lot of its male character, which was a distinguishing feature in Greece." Partly in response to such contemporary polemical salvos touting the significance of Greek architecture, including Marc-Antoine Laugier's 'Essai sur l'architecture' (1753), which demonstrated the evolution of wood to stone architecture as exemplified by the Greek Doric temple, in 1761 Piranesi published 'Della magnificenza ed architettura de' romani' (Concerning the magnificense and architecture of the Romans). Piranesi's lengthy essay in Italian and Latin expressed his conviction of the superiority of Etruscan design and was accompanied by thirty-eight engraved illustrations, including this foldout of Roman Ionic capitals. In the plate, Piranesi has surrounded Le Roy's own engraving of a capital from the Erechtheion in Athens with an elaborate array of more complex Roman variants. At the top of the plate is a quote from Le Roy: "The Ionic capitals one sees in Rome seem poor and defective," to which Piranesi responds by illustrating many of the "magnificent" Ionic capitals of Rome.
Artwork Details
- Title: Various Ionic capitals [Villa Albani, S. Clemente, S. Prassede, S. Priscia, etc.], tab. 12 from "Della Magnificenza e d'Architettura de'Romani" (On the Grandeur and the Architecture of the Romans by Gio. Battista Piranesi, Fellow of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of London)
- Series/Portfolio: Della Magnificenza e d'Architettura de'Romani
- Artist: Giovanni Battista Piranesi (Italian, Mogliano Veneto 1720–1778 Rome)
- Date: 1761
- Medium: Etching
- Dimensions: Sheet: 21 5/8 x 15 3/4 in. (55 x 40 cm)
Plate: 18 5/16 x 10 7/8 in. (46.5 x 27.7 cm) - Classifications: Albums, Prints, Ornament & Architecture
- Credit Line: Rogers Fund, transferred from the Library
- Object Number: 41.71.1.7(20)
- Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints
More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Giovanni Battista Piranesi
Domenico Cunego
1761, 1765
Giovanni Battista Piranesi
1740s–60s
Giovanni Battista Piranesi
ca. 1761
Giovanni Battista Piranesi
1757, 1761
Giovanni Battista Piranesi
1750
Research Resources
The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.
To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.
Feedback
We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.