An example of their lively choice of words: “Che Impostura!” is translated “What chicanery!” (p. Anyone who has tried to translate for publication knows the challenges of capturing the spirit of a passage as well as its literal meaning. The translators, Beamish and Britt, have made a clear and lively rendition of the French (Mariette) and Italian (Piranesi), and have also added useful commentary in notes to the text. As in the original version, the layout and spacing, with Piranesi’s and Mariette’s texts moving along side by side, makes the parallels especially useful. The translation of the ‘Observations’ follows Piranesi’s method of keying his comments to Mariette’s specific remarks. Piranesi published his reactions the following year, writing in the third person and addressing the ‘Gazette’ as if it were the audience: “Now, I ask the ‘Gazette’: has Piranesi ever yet compared the taste of the Romans in architectural ornament with that of the Greeks?” He puts quotations, which often veer from the original text, in italics. ![]() Pierre-Jean Mariette (1694-1774) published a letter in the ‘Gazette littéraire de l’Europe’ of November 4, 1764, in which he refuted claims made in Piranesi’s ‘Della magnificenza ed architettura de’ romani’ (1761). ![]() In these three works Piranesi set out his theoretical views on the value of richly ornamented architecture, at the same time that he claimed the Romans as the chief source for the greatness of modern architecture. This work was published in a single volume together with his ‘Opinions on Architecture’ (hereafter ‘Opinions’) and his ‘Preface to a New Treatise on the Introduction and Progress of the Fine Arts in Europe in Ancient Times’ (hereafter ‘Introduction and Progress’). In the following year Piranesi published his ‘Observations,’ aggressively claiming the superiority of the Romans. Le Roy’s ‘Ruins of the Most Beautiful Monuments of Greece’ had come out in 1758, and Winckelmann’s ‘History of the Art of Antiquity’ in 1764. ![]() This was no small claim in a period when the French, especially Julien-David Le Roy, and Germans, led by Johann Joachim Winckelmann, claimed that the Greeks should be credited as the only important source. In his ‘Observations’, Piranesi (1720-1778) defends the view that the greatness of Roman art and architecture lies in its Etruscan roots rather than its Greek borrowings and states the case for Rome as the most important inspiration in architecture. They, together with the high-quality illustrations, make an exceptionally interesting small volume that will be essential reading for those interested in 18th century debates on architectural decoration and its sources and for all who study Piranesi. One is hard-pressed to say which is the greater contribution to readers interested in Piranesi: the first translation into English of his fascinating ‘Observations on the Letter of Monsieur Mariette (hereafter ‘Observations’), as well as two other similarly polemical treatises published with it or the substantial and illuminating introduction by Wilton-Ely.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |