A geometrical analysis of multiple viewpoint perspective in the work of Giovanni Battista Piranesi: an application of geometric restitution of perspective

Abstract

This paper is a study of the work of the eighteenth-century Italian artist Giovanni Battista Piranesi. In it, selected etchings by Piranesi have been analysed by means of geometric restitution of perspective. Using this method it will be proved that the drawings of Ponte Fabrizio and Ponte Ferrato have been composed from multiple viewpoints. Piranesi has manipulated the conventional rules of perspective in order to produce a more believable and compelling representation of reality and subtly to influence our understanding of it. The paper presents a specific and detailed analysis of Piranesi's technique and reveals the sophisticated approach to perspective which he employed. It also gives an historical insight into the method of geometric restitution, explains how it operates and why it is useful, by employing it to analyse a series of etchings by Piranesi. It demonstrates that using precise geometrical methods may lead to new and exciting discoveries in the analysis of works of art. It is assumed that the reader has a basic understanding of the principles and constructions for vertical perspective. For more information refer to The basic constructions of perspective. 1 This will frame our way of thinking about perspective and provide an understanding of the projection methods. [The author was the winner of the 2007 RIBA President's Dissertation Medal; material additional to that in the article can be accessed in the multimedia section of the online version.]

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