Piranesi the Complete Etchings

Pictures are good!

The other reviews are spot on in that this is a very nice collection of etchings and even includes a couple drawings. The multi-lingual essays and explanations of the portfolios is a great read. The only glaring problem is in how very, very small this book is. For anyone interested in linework or any other more finite facets of art, the book is of minimal use. If you are just interested in a broad view of an image, the book is a steal. My particular copy, although shrink-wrapped, came with a print error on the cover that left many ruddy color slashes all along the spine and front cover. I don't mind as I bought the book for study, but as a "shelf" book for anyone else, the print errors are ugly for a shelf of coffee table.In Sum: great collection of work with excellent text, poor size (about the size of my hand outstretched)

Look at the page count and price: Taschen does quality printing, so this is one of the best bargains I've seen among art books. If you want to pick a nit, it's not "coffee table" sized, but plenty big enough to pick out reasonably fine detail in the 'Imaginary Prisons' series. (BTW, seeing some of the original 'Prison' prints at a local museum goaded me into buying this book, for which I'm grateful.) Some pages contain multilingual text rather than art, but not enough to dilute this magnificent assembly of classic engravings.And, without doubt, Piranesa was a true master of engraving. Compared to etching, for example, engravers have delicate and direct control over line weight, which Piranesi used to good effect in wispy skyscapes, dank prisons, and everything in between.All that said, I'm greatly attracted to only a fraction of his prodigious body of work. It all displays technical skill and mastery of form, with impeccable draftsmanship. Much of it, especially details of architecture, comes across schoolbook-dry and without feeling. I know that's completely appropriate to many venues and it's good to understand his most expressive work in the context of these more staid if technically flawless pieces - I still don't respond to the latter the way I do to the former.None of that takes away from the crisp, bright Taschen treatment. It's a beautiful book, and I'm not a bit ashamed of calling out favorities among the hundreds of engravings reproduced here.-- wiredweird

I first learned of Piranesi, when reading Marguerite Yourcenar's book "The Dark Brain Of Piranesi." Both Piranesi and Yourcenar saw a glimmer of an extraordinary vision amidst Roman decadence and in its 18th century ruins. Yourcenar's Memoirs of Hadrian (a Roman Emperor) described Hadrian's attempt to develop a vision of a higher form of Government, in a Roman world that wasn't ready for it. Piranesi etched the grandeur and vision of Rome's architects and artists, through the haunting Roman ruins deteriorating in 18th century Rome. If you've visited Roman ruins throughout the Mediterranean, perhaps you've felt the haunted reflectance of ruins. Piranesi's art captures that. But, it also captures in his Prisons etchings the dark vision that prevailed over the art and grandeur of Rome's architects.

Prints are not "complete", and too small for the lovely intricate details of a great creator like Piranesi.

This is a great hard copy resorce and gives you a full range of the mans work. It is not and can not be a complete listing of his work but I found it helpful to identify a couple pieces I have.

Read the product description details before buying this. The book's dimensions are too way tiny. Even with a jeweler's loupe I can barely see what's going on in most of the prints.Kudos for the completeness and, if all you want is a classical architecture reference book, this book will cover that. But, if you are interested in Piranesi the printmaker and his technique, this is pretty useless. All the delicate line detail is invisible.

Great book

The book is quite small, so are the illustrations, which is a pity, because it is on high quality paper and printed well.

Sehr schöne Sammlung von Piranesi. Für den Preis eine sehr gute Qualität. Das gute Stück ist ein ziemlicher Brocken und wiegt fast 5kg. Wer sich mit der Geschichte auseinandersetzt, wird bei einigen der Zeichnungen, Ungereimtheiten zur offiziellen Geschichtsschreibung erkennen. Kann es nur empfehlen.Leider habe ich drei Exemplare bestellt und alle drei kamen dank unzureichender Verpackung beschädigt an.

Gostei muito do produto, demorou para chegar, mas chegou antes do prazo estimado, produto bonito e de qualidade, eu só gostaria é que a Amazon.com.br tivesse um estoque mais amplo desses livros da editora Taschen como ela já teve há um tempo atrás e não precisasse da gente ter que efetuar uma compra internacional para obter o produto.

j'ai déjà signalé ce problème hier pour un autre achat de très beau livre et voilà que j'ai la même surprise aujourd'hui et cela fait beaucoup. Très mauvais emballage et calage insuffisant, pratiquement inexistant, le livre sa ballade dans le paquet et les coins sont très abimés. Je ne retourne pas ces livres car j'en ai besoin pour mes travaux. Je vous demande de considérer le problème pour que ça ne puisse pas se reproduire, n'ayant pas trouvé d'autre moyen de vous communiquer mon mécontentement (tel par exemple), j'utilise le seul moyen que j'ai trouvé. Henri LOBRY

El libro es muy bueno, con encuadernación estupenda e imágenes de calidad indiscutible. Lo único malo que puedo sacar es que, a pesar de estar en tres idiomas ninguno es el español. Solo inglés, alemán y francés. Aún así, muy buena compra!