Artwork Page for The Temple of Isis at Pompeii

Details / Information for The Temple of Isis at Pompeii

The Temple of Isis at Pompeii

1788
etched by

Francesco Piranesi

(Italian, 1758–1810)
hand-colored by

Louis Jean Desprez

(French, 1743–1804)
Culture
Italy, 18th century
Medium
etching, hand-colored with watercolor
Support
Laid paper with added decorative border, lined with secondary sheet of laid paper
Measurements
Sheet: 47.7 x 69.6 cm (18 3/4 x 27 3/8 in.); Secondary Support: 59.2 x 81.3 cm (23 5/16 x 32 in.)
Credit Line
John L. Severance Fund 2001.19
Catalogue raisonné
Piranesi XXXII, 7; Wollin p. 113 no. 7 I/II
State
state I/II
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
Print
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Did You Know?

Francesco Piranesi visited Pompeii with his father in the 1770s.

Description

Buried under layers of volcanic ash since the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE, the ancient Roman sites of Herculaneum and Pompeii were rediscovered and excavated in the 1700s. Remarkably well preserved, the two cities captured the imagination of Enlightenment Europe. Artists Francesco Piranesi and Louis Jean Desprez capitalized on the popularity of the ancient sites, creating an innovative souvenir of Pompeii. Etched by Piranesi, the prints were based on Desprez’s real-life observations. The latter artist hand colored and signed select impressions that the two advertised as dessins coloriés, or colored drawings, meant only for hommes de goût, or "men of taste."
A horizontally oriented etching hand-colored with watercolor depicts classical stone ruins before a wooded hill. In the middle ground, a ruined temple with columns overlooks a courtyard filled with small figures in eighteenth-century attire. To our left, a group gathers beside a decorated structure. Muted washes of blue, tan, and gray color the scene, while fine, etched lines and delicate strokes define the weathered architecture, leafy trees, and pale sky.

The Temple of Isis at Pompeii

1788

Francesco Piranesi, Louis Jean Desprez

(Italian, 1758–1810), (French, 1743–1804)
Italy, 18th century

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