Pretend Prisons: Piranesi’s "Carceri" as Interpreted by Jan Bogumił Plersch
Aleksandra Bernatowicz
aleksandra.bernatowicz@ispan.plInstitute of Art, Polish Academy of Sciences (Poland)
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9001-0071
Abstract
This article offers a discussion and formal interpretation of previously undescribed drawings by Jan Bogumił Plersch, depicting prison interiors modelled on engravings from Giambattista Piranesi’s Carceri d’Invenzione. The text is based on historical sources and the modest reference literature available to date. The comparative method, focusing on the formal features of the sketches, has made it possible to identify in Plersch’s works qualities original in relation to Piranesi’s etchings.
Keywords:
Jan Bogumił Plersch, Giovanni Battista Piranesi, Stanisław August Poniatowski, 18th-century Polish drawing, 18th-century Italian graphic art, 18th-century theatreReferences
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Authors
Aleksandra Bernatowiczaleksandra.bernatowicz@ispan.pl
Institute of Art, Polish Academy of Sciences Poland
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9001-0071
Aleksandra Bernatowicz – PhD, professor at the Institute of Art of the Polish Academy of Sciences, art historian. Since 2018, she has been the head of the Polish Artists' Dictionary Workshop. She specializes in painting from the second half of the 18th century – many of her works concern painted wall decorations. Her research interests also include the social dimension of artists' work. She is currently preparing a monograph on Jan Bogumił Plersch.
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