Beginning around 1745, Piranesi began engraving the first state of his series Carceri d'Invenzione (Imaginary Prisons), officially published in 1750. These fourteen plates depict vast, impossible subterranean interiors of dungeons, arcades, and staircases, filled with mysterious scaffolding, instruments of torture, and capricious architectural elements that expand into endless, dark space. Unlike the factual Vedute , the Carceri are vedute ideate — imagined, fantasy views.
| Theme | Giovanni’s Prisons | Clarke’s House | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | | Claustrophobia, terror, madness. | Peace, wonder, solitude. | | Architecture | Impossible stairs, oppressive machinery. | Vast, empty, echoing halls (The Great Hall, Hall of the Statues). | | The Hero | The omnipotent creator (Piranesi the artist). | The humble cataloguer (Piranesi the protagonist). | | The Threat | The infinite is a trap. | The infinite is a home. | Piranesi
1. The Historical Core: Giovanni Battista Piranesi (1720–1778) Beginning around 1745, Piranesi began engraving the first