Reading & Responding Part IX - A slightly altered perspective

I spent some time following a one to one with Jill and Christian to reflect on the comments made.  One area that I picked up with Christian was the interesting abstraction that I could investigate the Italian renaissance Artist and Architect, Giovanni Battista Piranesi, 1720 to 1778.
  Piranesi created some wonderful plates for etching which seemed to hugely enhance the feeling of perspective, - in itself, perspective being a relatively new concept to art at the renaissance and only some 300 or so years old.   The architectural perspective that Piranesi used has it's roots firmly founded on the work of Pranesi's old Italian contemporary, the Florentine architect, Fillipo Brunelescci 1377 to 1436,  (Who also designed the famous Doumo in Florence for example).

The level of detail in his drawings and etchings are far in advance of most of his contemporaries at the time.  This was because of an almost obsession fueled recordings of his imaginative visions;

He also created incredible images just from the imagination, but with an inspired attitude to sell his concepts he positioned the vanishing points in four aspects.  His origin (eye level) being so low gave the illusion of huge scale, something that his sponsors were no doubt keen to be impressed with.

Pironesi's work has also stimulated artists to create not only Architecture through the ages since his appointments to Rome, but also interior design, gold and silver furnishings, and of course, plaster reliefs, some of which can be seen in classic Adam style fireplaces of the same period (see Robert Adam, architect, 1728-92).

I really enjoyed looking at the book Piranesi as designer  - by Wilton-Ely, John (2007), London.  It's a rather hefty volume a couple of inches thick, approximately A4 size, but well worth taking a loan of; especially as the prints plates and etchings contained within it are to a very high photographic standard.  I have thought further about how the aspect position could also be reconsidered and I intend to carry out some further research on how the perception of space can be explored.