THE IMAGINED CITY: GIOVANNI BATTISTA PIRANESI’S “VEDUTE DI ROMA”

The article provides a detailed analysis of Giovanni Battista Piranesi’s series Vedute di Roma. It establishes a close connection between this series and the Venetian veduta tradition, which, akin to the capriccio genre, allows a free interpretation of the depicted vistas. The analysis of the composition of the series reveals an attempt to create a unified image of Rome, both as an ancient and modern city, with particular emphasis on its ancient monuments. Relatively little attention is given to Catholic Rome, although during the papacy of Clement XIV, buildings associated with the secular aspect of papal power were actively engraved. Medieval Rome is ignored, while Renaissance and Baroque buildings are rarely depicted. However, Piranesi pays significant attention to the most contemporary structures. His primary interest lies in the interplay between the ancient and the modern. In creating his vision of Rome, Piranesi freely manipulates the city’s views, adjusting them to his own conception — expanding streets, removing or repositioning buildings, exaggerating or diminishing their sizes, and altering their configurations. Over the 30 years during which he created the series, the image of Rome evolved significantly. The early plates were light, bright, and infused with the spirit of Rococo, depicting the central districts of the city. Over time, Piranesi moved further away from the center of Rome and delved deeper into the melancholic ruins on its outskirts, with the views growing increasingly somber and grandiose, anticipating the Romantic aesthetic of the sublime. The artist increasingly engaged with scale, intensifying perspective, enhancing light and shadow, and exaggerating the dimensions of the depicted buildings, which imbued their portrayal with a truly cosmological resonance. In his later vedute, Rome is transformed by Piranesi into a realm of myth: it is no longer the Rome of the 18th century, but a Rome beyond time — the Eternal Rome.