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Internal View of the Atrium of the Portico of Octavia, from Views of Rome

Date

1760

Creator

Giovanni Battista Piranesi

Location

Raclin Murphy Museum of Art

Piranesi includes two etching depicting the Atrium of the Portico of Octavia in the Vedute, one exterior and one interior. Creating a low point of reference in the interior space, Piranesi offers the viewer both a document recording the remains of ancient Rome and a vignette of eighteenth-century life. A sense of dichotomy between past and present permeates the composition; contemporary Romans populate the sublime architectural grandeur which towers over them. The portico, first built by Octavius in the 2nd century B.C., restored in 33 B.C. by Octavian and again in 203 A.D. by Septimus Severus, was originally a place of commerce. In the eighteenth century, this function endured as the Portico became an entry point to the fish market, seen receding into the distance from the archway. While the continuous commercial use of the space creates a bond between the ancient and contemporary Rome, Piranesi emphasizes the fracture between the two. The portico is in a state of ruin--fissures exposed and plants sprouting--as the figures below interact, buying and selling at the market. By surrounding the activity of the fish market with the immense ancient portico and lofty Corinthian columns, Piranesi imagines Roman architecture as a decaying shell enveloping contemporary life. from Sullo, The World of Piranesi: A Multidisciplinary Approach to Learning beyond the Classroom through Italian Language and Culture (Notre Dame, 2010)

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Piranesi includes two etching depicting the Atrium of the Portico of Octavia in the Vedute, one exterior and one interior. Creating a low point of reference in the interior space, Piranesi offers the viewer both a document recording the remains of ancient Rome and a vignette of eighteenth-century life. A sense of dichotomy between past and present permeates the composition; contemporary Romans populate the sublime architectural grandeur which towers over them. The portico, first built by Octavius in the 2nd century B.C., restored in 33 B.C. by Octavian and again in 203 A.D. by Septimus Severus, was originally a place of commerce. In the eighteenth century, this function endured as the Portico became an entry point to the fish market, seen receding into the distance from the archway. While the continuous commercial use of the space creates a bond between the ancient and contemporary Rome, Piranesi emphasizes the fracture between the two. The portico is in a state of ruin--fissures exposed and plants sprouting--as the figures below interact, buying and selling at the market. By surrounding the activity of the fish market with the immense ancient portico and lofty Corinthian columns, Piranesi imagines Roman architecture as a decaying shell enveloping contemporary life. from Sullo, The World of Piranesi: A Multidisciplinary Approach to Learning beyond the Classroom through Italian Language and Culture (Notre Dame, 2010)
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  • Piranesi includes two etching depicting the Atrium of the Portico of Octavia in the Vedute, one exterior and one interior. Creating a low point of reference in the interior space, Piranesi offers the viewer both a document recording the remains of ancient Rome and a vignette of eighteenth-century life. A sense of dichotomy between past and present permeates the composition; contemporary Romans populate the sublime architectural grandeur which towers over them. The portico, first built by Octavius in the 2nd century B.C., restored in 33 B.C. by Octavian and again in 203 A.D. by Septimus Severus, was originally a place of commerce. In the eighteenth century, this function endured as the Portico became an entry point to the fish market, seen receding into the distance from the archway. While the continuous commercial use of the space creates a bond between the ancient and contemporary Rome, Piranesi emphasizes the fracture between the two. The portico is in a state of ruin--fissures exposed and plants sprouting--as the figures below interact, buying and selling at the market. By surrounding the activity of the fish market with the immense ancient portico and lofty Corinthian columns, Piranesi imagines Roman architecture as a decaying shell enveloping contemporary life. from Sullo, The World of Piranesi: A Multidisciplinary Approach to Learning beyond the Classroom through Italian Language and Culture (Notre Dame, 2010)
  • Piranesi includes two etching depicting the Atrium of the Portico of Octavia in the Vedute, one exterior and one interior. Creating a low point of reference in the interior space, Piranesi offers the viewer both a document recording the remains of ancient Rome and a vignette of eighteenth-century life. A sense of dichotomy between past and present permeates the composition; contemporary Romans populate the sublime architectural grandeur which towers over them. The portico, first built by Octavius in the 2nd century B.C., restored in 33 B.C. by Octavian and again in 203 A.D. by Septimus Severus, was originally a place of commerce. In the eighteenth century, this function endured as the Portico became an entry point to the fish market, seen receding into the distance from the archway. While the continuous commercial use of the space creates a bond between the ancient and contemporary Rome, Piranesi emphasizes the fracture between the two. The portico is in a state of ruin--fissures exposed and plants sprouting--as the figures below interact, buying and selling at the market. By surrounding the activity of the fish market with the immense ancient portico and lofty Corinthian columns, Piranesi imagines Roman architecture as a decaying shell enveloping contemporary life. from Sullo, The World of Piranesi: A Multidisciplinary Approach to Learning beyond the Classroom through Italian Language and Culture (Notre Dame, 2010)
  • Piranesi includes two etching depicting the Atrium of the Portico of Octavia in the Vedute, one exterior and one interior. Creating a low point of reference in the interior space, Piranesi offers the viewer both a document recording the remains of ancient Rome and a vignette of eighteenth-century life. A sense of dichotomy between past and present permeates the composition; contemporary Romans populate the sublime architectural grandeur which towers over them. The portico, first built by Octavius in the 2nd century B.C., restored in 33 B.C. by Octavian and again in 203 A.D. by Septimus Severus, was originally a place of commerce. In the eighteenth century, this function endured as the Portico became an entry point to the fish market, seen receding into the distance from the archway. While the continuous commercial use of the space creates a bond between the ancient and contemporary Rome, Piranesi emphasizes the fracture between the two. The portico is in a state of ruin--fissures exposed and plants sprouting--as the figures below interact, buying and selling at the market. By surrounding the activity of the fish market with the immense ancient portico and lofty Corinthian columns, Piranesi imagines Roman architecture as a decaying shell enveloping contemporary life. from Sullo, The World of Piranesi: A Multidisciplinary Approach to Learning beyond the Classroom through Italian Language and Culture (Notre Dame, 2010)
Giovanni Battista Piranesi (Italian, 1720 - 1778)
1760
Prints
Etching on laid paper
2006.008.005
intaglio prints
ruins
Not on view, please request access
19 1/8 x 25 5/8 in. (48.58 x 65.09 cm)
Gift of Harvey and Rica Simmons Spivack

Our collection information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. If you have spotted an error, please contact Raclin Murphy Museum of Art at RMMACollections@nd.edu.