The so-called Grotto of Egeria (Veduta della fonte a delle Spelonche d'Egeria)
Not on Display
Sitting on the periphery of Rome, this building is associated with the meeting place of the nymph Egeria and King Numa Popilius. In the myth, those two met in a different area of Rome, but this structure is still associated with the story and blends a tangible Roman site with early Pagan mythology. The scene Piranesi etched shows the central chamber of the grotto. Appealing to 18th-century Romanticism, Piranesi emphasizes the vegetation enveloping the stone. The living figures and flora of the scene show the timelessness and continuity of Rome as a city while simultaneously displaying a completely different society than what used to occupy the space.
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Series:
Views of Rome (Vedute di Roma) (Series)
Artist/Maker:
Geography:
Europe; Italy
Culture:
Italian
Medium:
Etching on laid paper
Collection:
GW Collection
Accession Number:
CGA.68.26.836
Credit Line:
Gift from the Trustees of the Corcoran Gallery of Art (Bequest of Frank B. Bristow)
Date:
1766
Keywords:
Architecture; Interior View; Classicism; Fantasy; Ruin (built environment); Mythology; 18th Century
Copyright:
Public domain
Object Type:
Print
Dimensions:
Platemark 40.32 H x 68.26 W cm (15 7/8 H x 26 7/8 W in)
Sheet/Page 40.64 H x 68.90 W cm (16 H x 27 1/8 W in)
Structure:
etching
Provenance:
Frank B. Bristow [1885-1968], Virginia, 1968; Bequest to the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, 1968-2018; Gift to the George Washington University, Washington, DC, 2018.
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Bibliography:
Arthur M. Hind (Author), Giovanni Battista Piranesi: A Critical Study, with a List of His Published Works and Detailed Catalogues of the Prisons and the Views of Rome, Da Capo Press, New York, 1967, ©1922
Henri Focillon (Author), Giovanni-Battista Piranesi: Essai de Catalogue Raisonné de Son Oeuvre, Librairie Renouard, Henri Laurens, Paris, 1918
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Exhibition History:
Fall Selections: Building a Collection, Luther W. Brady Art Gallery, Washington DC, September 01, 2021 - December 17, 2021
Piranesi's Rome: Views of the Eternal City, Luther W. Brady Art Gallery, Olivia Kohler-Maga, September 04, 2024 - December 07, 2024
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