Research On Piranesi’s "the Different Views Of Paestum"

"The different views of Paestum" is an important etching work of Piranesi in his later years.It depicts three Doric temples of Paestum,an ancient Greek site in southern Italy.In 1777,Piranesi paid a visit to Paestum and published the "The different views of Paestum" the following year.This was Piranesi’s only set of works on ancient Greek architecture.The collection includes 21 etchings,including a frontispiece,and 17 sketches,most of which are in the collection of British architect Soane.In the mid-18 th century,there was a wave of Greek Revival in Europe.Many architects visited Paestum and published related works,so that people at that time had a more specific understanding of ancient Greek architecture.As a firm Roman supporter in the "Greek-Roman Controversy",Piranesi argued with many Greek supporters at that time,and used fierce writing and etchings as weapons to fight against the Roman architecture,believing that Roman architecture was superior to Greek architecture.In his later years,Piranesi turned his attention to the ancient Greek ruins Paestum.This article attempts to study the specific content and creative methods of "The different views of Paestum" on the basis of sorting out the context of the 18 th century Greek revival and the transformation of Piranesi’s thought.And comparing it with other Paestum related prints and Piranesi’s Roman architecture prints,trying to explore Piranesi’s value judgments on Greek and Roman architecture,and exploring the influence of the etchings on Soane and Adam brothers.The whole thesis contains about 53 000 words,128 pictures and charts.