Profile view of the same chair depicted in the two preceding etchings 1769 - 1778

This etching of a chair was made by Giovanni Battista Piranesi in the 18th century, using a technique that allowed for the mass production of images. Note the stark contrast between the drawing’s subject matter and the mode of its production. Piranesi depicts an extravagant marble seat, adorned with the figure of a dog, and a separate footstool, seemingly excavated from antiquity. Marble, of course, implies laborious extraction from the earth, followed by sculptural carving. We can only imagine the amount of time that went into its creation. Yet this image of unique, hand-worked luxury was itself made through a reproducible, industrial process – etching. The proliferation of prints like these fueled the 18th-century imagination, allowing those who could not afford aristocratic treasures to collect images of them. So, in the end, Piranesi’s work reminds us that the most singular objects often depend on broader systems of labor, politics, and consumption.