Minneapolis Institute of Art
The Pier with Chains
Giovanni Battista PiranesiLinkedCulture matchlcp-4ee1b5daa952
- Date
- c. 1761
- Medium
- Etching
- Department
- European Art
- Institution
- Minneapolis Institute of Art
- Object ID
- 52625
The inscriptions on the tablets are based on the ancient writer Livy’s History of Rome (27-9 BCE). In part, the ominous phrases read “to terrify . . ., ” “infamous wickedness . . ., ” and “thus to treason and evil conduct.” Whether or not these allusions to classical texts are meant to locate the Prisons in antiquity, they address the darkest recesses of the viewer’s consciousness. Italy, Europe
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Provenance & credit
As published by the source institution. Coverage varies — not every institution's open-data feed includes ownership history.
- Credit line
- The Martha T. Wallace Memorial Fund, 1930
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