1761
ink
paper
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
The Round Tower is a 1761 ink by Giovanni Battista Piranesi, a Romanticism work, held at National Gallery of Art.
This print shows a towering, crumbling stone tower with a spiral staircase inside. Around it, half-built arches and bridges tangle in the air like a maze. The lines are sharp and overlapping, making everything look heavy and tangled. The artist stacked up ruins and bridges to create a sense of endless depth. It’s like a fantasy city where old stone never fully falls apart. Next, look up etching to see how artists like Piranesi made prints like this.
Giovanni Battista (or Giambattista) Piranesi (Italian pronunciation: ; also known as simply Piranesi; 4 October 1720 – 9 November 1778) was an Italian classical archaeologist, architect, and artist, famous for his…
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