Piranesi's Candelabra and the Presence of the Past: Excessive Objects and the Emergence of a Style in the Age of Neoclassicism

Giovanni Battista Piranesi's three colossal candelabra, created from fragments of sculpture excavated near the Villa Hadriana in Tivoli, are among his most sought-after and prestigious works. Caroline van Eck's study explores how objects make their makers or viewers feel they are in the presence of Antiquity, examining the investment, processes, and ramifications of such attachments to artefacts. The book provides a biography of the candelabra, from their excavation to their entry into private and public collection, and reconsiders the development of neoclassicism from the perspective of the objects and objectscapes in Rome at the end of the eighteenth century.

Format: Hardback
Length: 224 pages
Publication date: 16 February 2023
Publisher: Oxford University Press

Near the end of his life,Giovanni Battista Piranesi (1720-78) created three colossal candelabra, mainly from fragments of sculpture excavated near the Villa Hadriana in Tivoli. These candelabra are now in the Ashmolean Museum in London and the Louvre in Paris. Although they were among the most sought-after and prestigious of his works, and fetched enormous prices during Piranesi's life, they suffered a steep decline in appreciation from the 1820s onwards, and even today they are among the least studied of his works. Piranesi's Candelabra and the Presence of the Past explores the intense investment by artists, patrons, collectors, and the public around the start of the nineteenth century in objects that made Graeco-Roman Antiquity present again. Caroline van Eck's study examines how objects make their makers or viewers feel that they are again in the presence of Antiquity, that not only Antiquity has revived, but that classical statues become alive under their gaze. This book delves into the processes that led to the development of neoclassicism from the perspective of the objects and objectscapes that came into being in Rome at the end of the eighteenth century.

Van Eck considers the context that Piranesi gave these candelabra by including them in his Vasi, Candelabri e Cippi (1778), to rethink the processes that led to the development of neoclassicism from the perspective of the objects and objectscapes that came into being in Rome at the end of the eighteenth century. The book provides a detailed biography of these candelabra, from the excavation of the Roman fragments to their entry into private and public collections. It also explores the ramifications of such intense attachments to artefacts, questioning what it takes to make such objects and what it costs to own them.

In conclusion, Piranesi's Candelabra and the Presence of the Past offers a unique perspective on the development of neoclassicism and the significance of objects in shaping our understanding of the past. Through its exploration of the three colossal candelabra created by Piranesi, van Eck sheds light on the investment, appreciation, and study of these objects, and the broader implications of our intense attachments to artefacts. This book is a valuable contribution to the field of art history and cultural studies, and will interest scholars and enthusiasts alike.

Weight: 668g
Dimension: 253 x 197 x 18 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780192845665