The Arch with a Shell Ornament, Imaginary Prisons plate 11

Dense black etching shows a vast vaulted prison interior, with tall arches receding into shadow and wooden cranes, beams and ladders crowding the foreground. Tiny figures stand on walkways among the machinery, and the fine parallel lines give the scene a dim, labyrinthine depth.

Artist

Giovanni Battista Piranesi

Date

1761

Medium

Etching on heavy ivory laid paper

Source

Art Institute of Chicago

Size

1686 × 1285 px

Credit (appreciated, not required for public-domain works): Art Institute of Chicago, The Wallace L. DeWolf and Joseph Brooks Fair Collections