Veduta della Basilica di S. Paolo fuor delle mura

Vedute di Roma (Views of Rome) is an extensive series of etched plates that Piranesi worked on for most of his life, beginning in 1747 when he settled permanently in Rome to his death in 1778. Each year, he added new plates to the series, with the cycle finally totalling 135 etchings. In his vedute, he did not present faithful views of a certain site, but instead – as was common in his day – idealized scenes, composed of various views with elements added or removed. He portrayed the architectural monuments of Rome and its environs (Tivoli, Albano, Cori) and exceptionally also more distant locations related to Rome through their ancient history (Benevento, Capua). Owing to the long period over which the views were produced, one can observe their gradual formal development: from long views of monuments characterized by a light tonality, to later more expressive and darker images that draw the observer into the centre of a Roman street scene or close to monumental ruins. Piranesi’s works differed from contemporary Roman topographical production in their lively treatment, painterly sense of colour and light−and−shade contrasts, the magnificence of the scenes and the large formats of the prints.