Giovanni Battista Piranesi
Italian, 1720-1778
View of the Temple of Bacchus, now the church of S. Urbano, two miles distant from Rome, beyond the Porta S. Sebastiano, from Views of Rome
INV-6457
Giovanni Battista Piranesi
Italian, 1720-17781750/59
View of the Temple of Bacchus, now the church of S. Urbano, two miles distant from Rome, beyond the Porta S. Sebastiano, from Views of Rome
Giovanni Battista Piranesi Italian, 1720-1778 →etchingprint
Date
1750/59
Medium
Etching on heavy ivory laid paper
Dimensions
Image: 38.5 × 61.6 cm (15 3/16 × 24 5/16 in.); Plate: 40.8 × 62.3 cm (16 1/8 × 24 9/16 in.); Sheet: 55.5 × 78.5 cm (21 7/8 × 30 15/16 in.)
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Location
Chicago, IL
Credit
Clarence Buckingham Collection
The temple depicted in this etching was built in the 2nd century A.D. by the Greek aristocrat Herodes Atticus and originally dedicated to the fertility goddess Ceres. During the 9th century, it was converted into a Christian church to honor Saint Urban, a 3rd-century pope. By the time Giovanni Battista Piranesi drew it, the temple had withstood various centuries of abandonment before being restored in 1634. In the print, part of an enclosing wall is visible on the side of the temple. This wall has since disappeared. The church is now the property of the Roman government and was reopened for worship in 2005.
Also notable
Works in the same vein
View of Ponte Lugano on the Anio, from Views of Rome
Giovanni Battista Piranesi (Italian, 1720-1778) published by Francesco (Italian, 1758-1810) and Pietro Piranesi (Italian, born 1758/9)
The Giant Wheel, plate 9 from Imaginary Prisons
Giovanni Battista Piranesi Italian, 1720-1778
Villa Pamphili outside Porta S. Pancrazio, from Views of Rome
Giovanni Battista Piranesi (Italian, 1720-1778) published by Francesco (Italian, 1758-1810) and Pietro Piranesi (Italian, born 1758/9)
