Giovanni Battista Piranesi, Veduta della Basilica di S. Paolo fuor delle mura (View of the Basilica of St Paul Outside-the-Walls), 1765–78 impression, etching and engraving, from Vedute di Roma, 1748–78, Rare Books collection, State Library of Victoria.
Many of us are more familiar with Piranesi’s artwork than we realise. His Views of Rome, in particular, are ubiquitous illustrations of older history books and travelogues and prints of his work have been popular souvenirs for literally centuries.
But glancing at a smudgy printing or cheap copy of the Spanish Steps or Pantheon is quite different from giving high quality original prints of these highly accomplished architectural drawings.
Piranesi was an 18th century Italian printmaker whose engravings and etchings were highly successful in his lifetime, particularly his Views of Rome beloved of early travellers. Thanks to the nature of this work the State Library of Victoria and University of Melbourne’s Ian Potter Museum both have significant collections which have been combined with a number of loans to produce Rome: Piranesi’s vision, in the elegant small gallery at the State Library. Like all libraries, the SLV is in the business of remaking itself as a resource centre for the internet age and it has been creative and thoughtful in its programming of bookish exhibitions covering medieval and Persian manuscripts, cookbooks, children’s books and photography, among other subjects.
This exhibition presents mostly wall prints, although there are a significant number of impressive books, either illustrated by Piranesi or related in some way to his life. One magnificent example is illustrated with a portrait of the artists, produced by one of his grandsons.
Piranesi’s work fits well in the culture of the Library. It requires the same slow and careful attention from the viewer that it must have taken from the artist – although Piranesi was sufficiently prolific to suggest he could not have been so very slow). We are required to dispense with colour and movement, the ease of photography and the drama of paint, to see the effectiveness of pure line and shading.
Once in that viewing space, this work is impressive in its ability to give us scale and perspective and to make us understand the enterprise that is architecture. Piranessi captures the sense of space that will make the exhibition particularly resonant for anyone who has been privileged to enjoy the great buildings of Rome, so many of which he represents: the Pantheon, Colosseum, Spanish Steps and of course St Peter’s Basilica.
Piranesi is most impressive in his use of perspective to add grandeur and shape to the way we see what we would now call the urban environment and in bringing out the way in which architecture reflects the values of a society.
His greatest strength was in his depiction of the decaying classical world and, as the title suggests, it is these works that are the focus of this exhibition. But there are also more Baroque works (and some lovely Baroque music to accompany them in the background).
Rome: Piranesi’s Vision is not an exciting exhibition and its appeal will be more limited than some of the SLV’s recent selections. The works are very similar to one another and to see the full exhibition in one go can be a little tiresome.
But as a free exhibition in the centre of Melbourne is an ideal place to pop in of a lunch hour and take in a dozen works in a meditative space.
Three and a half stars out of five.Rome: Piranesi’s Vision
22 February to 22 June 2014
Keith Murdoch Gallery, State Library of Victoria
328 Swanston St. Melbourne
Information from the State Library of Victoria
