Giovanni Battista Piranesi - Section of the Tomb of Alexander Severus

This engraving by Piranesi scientifically and philologically depicts a section of the tomb of Alexander Severus, also known as Monte del Grano. As we can clearly see in Piranesi's print, the tomb consists of an underground construction of stone blocks, covered by an artificial hill like traditional Etruscan and Roman mausoleums. The structure contains the circular chamber, accessed via a long corridor, where the sarcophagus was kept. Piranesi's engraving is excellent, not only from a technical standpoint but also for its didactic nature, with the various sections and points of interest indicated by an alphabetical legend.

In Giovan Battista Piranesi's prints, we find several aesthetic expressions typical of his era, during which a certain Romantic spirituality was already beginning to overlap with Neoclassical culture. Indeed, his interest was focused on classical antiquity, especially Roman antiquity, whose remains he sought to document with philological precision. However, in Piranesi's work, especially in his vedute, a visionary character prevails, given the insinuation of a Romantic spirituality. In this case, since it is a truly scientific and archaeological engraving, the Neoclassical philological spirit, of research and study of antiquity, prevails. For this reason, the work has an exquisitely technical character and is highly interesting in showing us Piranesi as a researcher and architect, rather than an artist. The graphic and technical skill with which the engraving was executed is nonetheless extraordinary. Note the precision of the lines in constructing perfect volumes and the extremely fine hatching that creates the interplay of shadows. The environmental details are also significant, in the beautiful reproduction of the vegetation which, always with a subtle hatching, Piranesi manages to portray with extraordinary naturalism.

Giovan Battista Piranesi, born in Venice in 1720, died in Rome in 1778. He considered himself primarily an architect, but his only work was the church of Santa Maria al Priorato and the layout of the Piazza dei Cavalieri di Malta opposite, completed in 1766. His artistic fame rests on his extensive production of engravings, which combine the neoclassical spirit of popularizing and celebrating Roman antiquities with a typically Romantic sense of the sublime. Among his most famous works are the "Carceri" and "Roman Antiquities" cycles.

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